By Sinéad Carew
(Reuters) – Shares in GameStop and other so-called meme stocks popular among members of Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum jumped on Thursday as investors bought shares whose prices tumbled in the previous session.
Shares in video-game retailer GameStop were last up 32.1% at $159.02 with brisk trading volume, erasing much of the previous session’s 33.8% decline after the company said it was evaluating the possibility of a share sale.
Volatility has spiked this year in GameStop shares, which have risen from just $18.84 at the end of 2020 and reached a record high of $483 in late January before falling sharply and then kicking off another rally in late February.
The company has benefited from a push by retail investors such as Reddit members to drive up prices of heavily shorted stocks.
Investors have also been eyeing efforts by billionaire investor and Chewy Inc co-founder Ryan Cohen, who is on GameStop’s board, to transform the retailer into an e-commerce firm that can take on big-box store rivals such as Target Corp and Walmart Inc.
Shares in headphone maker Koss Corp were up 30.5% at $21.44 with volume surpassing twice the 10-day moving average. The stock had fallen almost 22% on Wednesday.
Cinema operator AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc were up 15.9% at $10.45 after falling 36% in the last four sessions with Disney’s announcement on March 23 that it was delaying the release of Marvel Studios film “Black Widow” by two months until July and planning a simultaneous theaters and Disney+ streaming release.
(Reporting By Sinéad Carew; Editing by Alden Bentley and David Gregorio)
