A GameStop store is depicted in New York, January 29, 2021.
Carlo AllegriI | Reuters
GameStop’s shares rose more than 100% on Wednesday, with investors storming the brick and mortar retailer amid a C-suite shake.
The shares were interrupted with less than 30 minutes to the end of the trading session and ended the day with an increase of 103.9%.
GameStop announced on Tuesday that its chief financial officer, Jim Bell, will resign on March 26.
“Mr. Bell’s resignation was not due to any disagreement with the company on any matter related to the company’s operations, policies or practices, including accounting principles and practices,” the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sources familiar with the matter told Business Insider that Bell did not come out willingly, but was pushed by Ryan Cohen, a co-founder of Chewy who made an investment in GameStop last year in an effort to help the company accelerate its online advance. .
Bloomberg News reported late on Tuesday that GameStop’s board pushed Bell to perform his recovery more quickly, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Cohen’s appointment to the GameStop board helped boost the heavily shorted shares in January, which resulted in the epic tightening of sales at GameStop, which sparked a retail trading craze and eventually Congressional attention.
“We recognize that leadership changes often follow activist deals and Mr. Bell’s departure was mutual, not immediate and does not suggest any disagreement with the company / board,” said Stephanie Wissink, Jefferies’ stock analyst to clients. “We believe that Mr. Bell deserves recognition for a series of actions that protected GME’s assets during the final stages of the last hardware cycle, when sales fell dramatically.”
Jefferies added that GameStop is likely to look for a substitute CFO for a technology, compared to retail.
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