These 2 Once-Loved Stocks Are Making Their Last Stands

The stock market gave investors a modest bounce on Wednesday, recovering a small amount of the ground that major indexes had lost earlier in the week. In large part, though, Wall Street appears to be in a holding pattern as investors wait for what the Federal Reserve will say at its annual symposium.

Gains for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.56%), S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.88%), and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -2.05%) amounted to less than half a percent.

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

The bear market in stocks since 2021 has been painful for many investors, as many high-flying growth stocks that were favorites among the investing community have taken especially big hits. That's forced many companies to take aggressive steps with their businesses to try to turn things around.

On Wednesday, Peloton Interactive (PTON -0.98%) and Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) announced their latest attempts to bounce back from their difficulties. It's far too early to tell if they'll be successful, but in many people's eyes, they could represent the last stands for these once-beloved businesses.

Peloton looks for an Amazon lifeline

Shares of Peloton rose 20% on Wednesday after the company did an about-face with its distribution strategy. After having maintained an adamant stance in support of its direct-to-consumer model, Peloton finally admitted that it needed help working through its massive inventory of fitness equipment.

Peloton announced that it would launch on Amazon (AMZN -2.56%), making its products available through a collaboration with the e-commerce giant. Peloton said the move should expand its distribution and enable it to engage more efficiently with millions of current and prospective members of its connected fitness community.

The company specifically called out its Bike, which will be available for in-home delivery. Buyers will be able either to assemble the equipment themselves or sign up for expert assembly, which Peloton expects to be available throughout most of the U.S. market. Neither option will involve additional cost for customers.

It'll be interesting, though, to see what impact the move has on sales of other Peloton items. The Peloton Guide training device could gain traction if Amazon customers find the AI-enabled device useful, and sales of accessories and apparel could help boost Peloton's flagging sales. If the Amazon collaboration helps Peloton reduce its bloated inventory, it could be the key first step toward turning things around before the company's problems become too big to solve.

Bed Bath & Beyond raises cash

Elsewhere in retail, Bed Bath & Beyond bounced back, rising 18% on Wednesday. After having endured the disappointment of seeing meme-stock investor Ryan Cohen exit his position in the home goods retailer, shareholders were pleased to see the company get much-needed access to capital at a critical time.

Bed Bath & Beyond got debt financing from JPMorgan Chase, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal.  The capital should help the retailer convince its suppliers that it still has the financial wherewithal to pay for inventory going into the key holiday season.

The loan appears to come just in time, as investors were growing particularly nervous at signs that some suppliers were holding back shipments. Yet it doesn't address the long-standing problems that Bed Bath & Beyond has faced, including the difficulties of maintaining its brick-and-mortar store base even amid rising competition, both from physical-store peers and e-commerce rivals.

Financing will buy Bed Bath & Beyond some time. But if it can't address its bigger problems, then the short-term relief will eventually give way to the same problems shortly.