Brief Summary
- Ryan Cohen, chairman of GameStop, has submitted paperwork to sell his 9.4 million Bed Bath & Beyond shares.
- Shares have risen steadily for the past month, thanks to a resurgence in trading based on memes.
- As a whole, the markets are relatively stable today, but several meme stocks are plunging.
What occurred
Shares of GameStop (NYSE:GME) are down 5.6% as of 11:40 a.m. ET on Thursday, despite the absence of specific news regarding the video game retailer. However, GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen has filed to sell his entire interest in Bed Bath & Beyond (BBB -20.58%), causing that stock to plummet by over 30%.
What’s the Reason?
After Cohen’s RC Ventures purchased a nearly 12% stake in the home goods store back in March, a regulatory filing on Monday revealed that the investment also came with 1.6 million stock options with strike prices between $60 and $80 per share.
Cohen’s original investment in Bed Bath & Beyond caused its price to soar, and he was rewarded with three board seats. However, the stock declined throughout the summer as investors dumped riskier investments.
There was another month of gains for meme stocks, with Bed Bath & Beyond’s stock increasing fourfold, AMC Entertainment’s doubling, and GameStop’s (NYSE:GME) rise to roughly 40%.
Cohen’s option position in the home goods store was revealed, sending shares skyrocketing as the strike prices suggested additional gains were possible. The price is down significantly today after he disclosed yesterday that he plans to sell all of his shares. Not only has GameStop (NYSE:GME) dropped today, but so has AMC, down 5%.
So, what happens now
Since the original meme stock trading craze that swept the market last year, such movements don’t appear to have affected the retail stock traders who have largely propped up GameStop (NYSE:GME) shares.
In January of 2021, a share of the company’s stock was trading for less than $5. In December of that year, it was trading for over $38. While some who purchased GameStop (NYSE:GME) stock at its all-time high of over $80 per share continue to feel the sting of a significant loss, many others are still making money and are confident the video game retailer’s stock has much further to rise.
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Author Shariq Khan 
