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A worker carries a broom past closed stores at the Tanger Outlets center in Atlantic City, NJ. Tanger’s shares increased on Thursday.
Angus Mordant / Bloomberg
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers
took a wild ride on Thursday, the latest stock of hot potatoes stuck in a short squeeze.
The mall operator has a large number of shares sold, currently more than 33% of its shares, according to FactSet. This makes it one of the most sold shares, along with
GameStop
(30.2%),
Rocket Cos.
(39.7%), and
GoodRx Holdings
(27.6%), according to MarketWatch data.
Tanger (ticker: SKT) shares jumped 22% on Thursday morning to hit the biggest 52-week high before settling. In the middle of the afternoon, they completely lost their breath and fell 5.4%. The stock rose 38% in the last year, compared to a 20% gain in one year in the
S&P 500.
Malls are among the most depressed stocks during the pandemic, forced to temporarily close down locations and restrict the number of buyers, while juggling tenants on a tight budget who face the same challenges.
Tanger was a topic on a Reddit forum called WallStreetBets. A Wednesday post said “SKT is about to reach its highest point since May 2019 and is the second best selling stock after GME. You know what to do!”
“Let’s make it explode,” says the post. “Help bring this stock into the spotlight and make it the new GME.”
A spokesman for Tanger was not immediately available on Thursday.
WSB on Reddit is the forum where stock trading enthusiasts share ideas. It is also a great focus for those who are investigating the race in
GameStop
(GME),
AMC Entertainment Holdings
(AMC), and other actions a few weeks ago in a trading frenzy described as retail investors chasing professional short sellers.
The average rating of the six analysts who publish research on Tanger is Underweight, the equivalent of a Sell. Revenue for the year 2020 fell 10% to $ 370 million, according to FactSet.
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