(Reuters) -GameStop and other so-called meme stocks rose on Thursday, with investors piling up shares after a fall in the previous session.
Shares in video game retailer GameStop closed up 52.7%, at $ 183.75, with a high turnover, after rising to $ 187.50 at the end of the session.
The company’s shares have remained down 8.2% for the week so far, after losses after a mediocre earnings report on Tuesday, during which the company disclosed that it was evaluating the possibility of a share sale. They are up 875% year-to-date, although still far from their $ 483 record reached in late January.
The company benefited from a boost from retail investors, often on online forums like Reddit’s popular WallStreetBets, to raise stock prices they believe are undervalued.
Investors are also eyeing the efforts of billionaire investor and co-founder of Chewy Inc, Ryan Cohen, who is on GameStop’s board, to turn the retailer into an e-commerce company that could face rivals from major stores such as Target Corp and Walmart Inc.
GameStop, which added three new directors, including Cohen, to the board in January as part of a deal, said in its quarterly report here on Tuesday that it expects eight full board members to retire at the 2021 annual meeting in June. The company said it has not yet determined who to appoint to replace the members who are leaving the board.
CFRA analyst Camilla Yanushevsky said that some investors believe the board’s reform plan is a promising sign for GameStop’s efforts to expand e-commerce.
“If Ryan Cohen can fill the board with his allies, people think that it could lead to a GameStop transformation. This is the case for the bull, ”she said.
Meanwhile, shares in other meme stocks, such as headphone maker Koss Corp, have also skyrocketed. Koss shares closed up 57.1%, at $ 25.80, with a trading volume around 4.7 times the 10-day moving average. The shares fell nearly 22% on Wednesday.
Film operator AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc closed up 21.3% to $ 10.94, after falling 36% in the last four sessions.
Sinéad Carew reporting; Editing by Alden Bentley and David Gregorio