(Reuters) – Shares in GameStop Corp were up 18.1% in active trading on Wednesday after falling in six of the last seven sessions, putting the video game retailer on track for its biggest gains since March 25.
There was no obvious new catalyst for the price increase in the “stonk”, the term used to refer to highly volatile stocks that have been a focus for members of online Reddit forum WallStreetBets. Other stocks often mentioned in the forum also rose on Wednesday.
Shares in headphones maker Koss Corp gained 5.9% while shares in cinema operator AMC Entertainment were climbing 7.8%.
GameStop shares had risen slightly in after the bell trade on Tuesday when the company announced a voluntary early redemption of senior notes.
However, after opening the regular session at $143.57 on Wednesday, GameStop trading volume did not accelerate until more than an hour after the open and only hit its peak for the session so far around 1130 EDT (1530 GMT).
GameStop shares lost around 11% of their value on Monday after Reuters reported late in the session that the company is looking for a new chief executive to replace George Sherman as it pivots from being a brick-and-mortar video game retailer to e-commerce.
GameStop, which hit a $483 record high in late January, last traded at $166.45 after rising as high as $174.09 with trading volume already at 1.4 times the 10-day moving average.
(Reporting By Sinéad Carew; editing by Barbara Lewis)
