Michael Hiltzik: Remember the GameStop stock craze? Looks like it's over
Just about one year ago, a consumer chain lumbering its way toward business irrelevancy suddenly became the lodestar of a stock market craze. GameStop, a a money-losing video- and computer-game retailer with 5,000 stores facing a bleak future as game-buying shifted from physical products to digital downloads, seemingly had nowhere to go but down. Short sellers had piled into its stock, betting ...
by Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times
Jan 25, 2022
4 minutes
Just about one year ago, a consumer chain lumbering its way toward business irrelevancy suddenly became the lodestar of a stock market craze.
GameStop, a a money-losing video- and computer-game retailer with 5,000 stores facing a bleak future as game-buying shifted from physical products to digital downloads, seemingly had nowhere to go but down. Short sellers had piled into its stock, betting that it was on a glide path to extinction.
Suddenly, in January 2021, the shares took off. On the first trading day of that year, they closed at $17.25. On Jan. 29, they closed at $325, a day after hitting an intraday peak of $483. On Monday, they fell $6.21 or 5.8%, to $100.15, their lowest level since
You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
Start your free 30 days