GameStop (GME 2.43%) stock rocketed higher late in Wednesday's trading, apparently spurred on in part by the departure of CFO Jim Bell. The stock more than doubled in the day's trading, adding another fascinating twist in the recent saga of huge gains and volatility.
News hit on Tuesday that Bell would be stepping down from the CFO role on GameStop, with Business Insider reporting that the executive had been forced out in order to accelerate the pivot to e-commerce championed by large stakeholder and Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen. The video game retailer's stock saw relatively little movement in early trading following news of Bell's departure, which makes the late-day surge all the more interesting.
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While potential for a faster e-commerce pivot championed by Cohen might explain some uptick in bullish sentiment, it looks like a surge of irregular buying is once again triggering a short squeeze. GameStop opened at $44.70 per share and closed out the day at $91.71 per share. The rally has continued in after hours trading, with the stock rising an additional 59% to trade at roughly $146 per share as of this writing.
Rather than a surge of buying activity coming from retail investors coordinating on Reddit's WallStreetBets board, some analysts think that the latest short squeeze on the stock is being driven by institutional investors. CNBC's report on GameStop stock's latest surge highlights a tweet from Mad Money host Jim Cramer stating that it was one of the most amazing short squeeze pushes he had ever seen and indicating there was massive buying from many sources.
GameStop's incredible rally has been one of 2021's most exciting stories, and ripple effects created by its volatile trading suggest the stock is worth keeping an eye on.
