Richard Mashaal and Brian Gonic’s hedgefund Senvest Management LLC won $ 700 million in the rally powered by WallStreetBets in GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME), the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
What happened: The two began buying retail video game stocks in September and took advantage of the GameStop rocket when the stock skyrocketed from less than $ 10 to more than $ 400, the Journal reported.
“When he started his march, we thought, something is infiltrating here,” said Mashaal – adding: “But we had no idea how crazy this thing was going to get.”
Senvest was curious about GameStop after attending a presentation by the new GameStop CEO at a consumer investment conference in January 2020.
The hedge fund company talked to management and observed activity around the company, including the involvement of Chewy Inc (NYSE: CHWY) co-founder Ryan Cohen.
“It’s not just the little people on the long side here. There are great players playing both sides of the GameStop, ”said Thomas Peterffy, president of Interactive Brokers Group Inc, reported the Journal.
Why it matters: GameStop turned out to be the hedge fund’s most profitable investment in terms of earned dollars and its internal rate of return.
The value of Senvest’s flagship fund increased from $ 1.6 billion at the end of 2020 to $ 2.4 billion. In January, the fund returned 38.4% after rates, the newspaper noted.
Hedge fund company Mudrick Capital Management LP won $ 200 million in another favorite of Reddit investors AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: AMC).
Melvin Capital, the hedge fund at the heart of the GameStop saga, lost 53% in January when betting against the retailer.
The recent drop in hot Reddit stocks hurt WallStreetBets members with Keith Patrick Gill, better known as Deep F — ing Value and Roaring Kitty, losing more than $ 13.6 million in his GameStop investment on Tuesday.
Share price: On Wednesday, GameStop’s shares fell 3.82% in the after-hours session to $ 88.88, after closing 2.68% up to $ 92.41 in the regular session.
Related link: Who are the GameStop winners? Ryan Cohen, ‘Roaring Kitty’ and others who made a fortune
Photo courtesy of: Ardfern via Wikimedia
© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.