Shares in GameStop and AMC, two companies loved by retailers on Reddit and other social media platforms, are rising again.
Shares of GameStop (GME) rose more than 30% on Tuesday and rose a further 16% on Wednesday. AMC (AMC) rose 15% on Tuesday and rose 20% on Wednesday.
GameStop appeared after the company’s chairman Ryan Cohen, co-founder of online pet retailer Chew (ALL), bought an additional 100,000 shares. “I put my money where my mouth is,” he said tweeted Tuesday. His RC Ventures now owns 9.1 million shares, an 11.9% stake in the retailer.
Cohen revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission application that he bought the GameStop shares on Tuesday at a price range of $ 96.81 to $ 108.82. The stock closed Tuesday at $ 123.14 and traded at around $ 143 per share on Wednesday afternoon.
Cohen hopes to turn around GameStop with investments in NFTs and other cryptocurrency and blockchain initiatives. He has picked up two ex Amazon (AMZN) leaders to become the new CEO and CFO. (Cohen is also pushing for changes at the struggling dealer Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY). His company has recently taken an activist stake.)
AMC is also benefiting from some executive chats on Twitter.
The theater chain’s managing director, Adam Aron, tweeted Tuesday about his enthusiasm for the upcoming spring and summer film and defended the company’s recent acquisition of more than 20% of the shares in gold and silver miner Hycroft.
“So funny. The narrow-mindedness calls our Hycroft investment … ‘stupid’ … ‘idiotic’. AMC then understands how to raise money and stretch debt,” Aron wroteciting his company’s recent plans to refinance.
“Tons of crows eating ahead and it’s not going to be me!” added the CEO.
Both GameStop and AMC have fallen this year along with the wider market. AMC shares are still down almost 20% in 2022, despite a rise of almost 45% in the last five days. GameStops shares have fallen about 3% this year, even after rising 65% in the past week.
Individual investors on Reddit are not the only ones trying to monetize the AMC and GameStop frenzy. These shares are top holdings in a meme ETF run by the investment company Roundhill. The ticker symbol? MEME, of course.
The companies are also top stocks in a VanEck ETF that tracks social sentiment and trades under the ticker symbol BUZZ. Both departments have fallen by about 20% this year, but have risen sharply in recent days.