The Wall Street sign is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, February 16, 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Heavily sold stocks have made headlines in recent weeks, after a deluge of retail investment has pushed GameStop and other stock prices soaring.
GameStop’s stock rose to $ 325 per share in late January, with retail traders inspired by the topic of Reddit WallStreetBets piling up, creating a short-term squeeze on hedge funds with substantial short positions against the shares. The stock price has since dropped and is now trading just over $ 40.
Short selling is a trading strategy that allows investors to capitalize on the devaluation of a stock, by borrowing a stock and selling it at current market value, with the aim of repurchasing it at a lower price in the future.
GameStop used to be the best-selling stock on the market, with 138% of its shares floating in short positions, but the rising stock price has forced a number of short sellers to close their positions, in some cases with substantial losses.
According to data from FactSet, the traditional video game remains the seventh best-selling stock in the United States, with a share sold in 39.29% of the company’s stock.
Here is a list of the other best-selling stocks on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Composite.