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GameStop’s shares rose 44% in pre-market trading on Thursday, as the heavily sold shares favored by Reddit traders look set to resurface.
Investors huddled at the video game retailer on Wednesday after chief financial officer Jim Bell’s alleged departure, causing stocks to soar 103.9% before trading was halted.
The company announced on Tuesday that Bell will resign on March 26, with reports suggesting that Ryan Cohen – GameStop investor and cofounder of pet food retailer Chewy – and the board forced the move to accelerate its online transition.
GameStop was at the center of a period of market chaos in late January, when retail traders led by the multi-million member segment of Reddit WallStreetBets skyrocketed their stock prices, causing a slight squeeze in several Hedge Funds. Wall Street with bets on its decline.
However, some analysts suggested that there was also some institutional involvement in raising the share price.
Another stock caught in the retail frenzy, AMC Entertainment, rose 17% in premarket trading on Thursday, up 18% in the previous session. The cinema chain was reinforced by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who announced that city cinemas could open with limited capacity next month.
Meanwhile, headphone maker and also Reddit’s favorite, Koss Corp, jumped 57% in the early hours of Thursday.