What happened
Shares of fuboTV (FUBO -3.50%) rose 9.9% on Monday despite a nearly total lack of news from or about the TV-streaming company. This stock often follows along when other heavily shorted tickers are getting a push from Reddit's WallStreetBets (WSB) channel, and that was the case again today.
So what
The only company-specific news was a report about all of fuboTV's preferred stock having been exchanged for a larger number of common shares, thus simplifying the company's shareholder structure to a single class of ordinary shares. That's hardly market-moving news -- more like reshuffling the paperwork on an accountant's desk.
At the same time, WSB traders drove several of their favorite stocks higher today, led by GameStop's (GME 7.58%) 18.3% gain on heavy trading volume. fuboTV is almost as heavily shorted as GameStop these days, so it's no surprise to see the sports-focused media streamer tagging along.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
Monday's sudden jump doesn't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world and may very well be overshadowed by a larger gain or swallowed by an equally impressive price cut tomorrow. Nearly 30% of fuboTV's shares are currently sold short, which makes for a bumpy stock chart even in a normal market without WSB traders throwing more fuel on the fires of volatility.
That being said, fuboTV is scheduled to report earnings Tuesday evening. That event may trigger another big move, with the crucial difference that the drop or jump will be based on the company's financial results rather than by intentional price-boosting moves from an organized group of speculative traders. Brush off news-less moves like Monday's 9.9% jump and focus on the real data tomorrow night. That's how successful investors make money in the long run.
