
This phenomenon increased the upward pressure on the GameStop stock price, leading to disastrous financial losses for hedge funds and traders who bet against GameStop. As a result, GameStop’s stock price increased by 1910% and cost hedge funds $5 billion dollars over the course of two weeks.
Full Answer
Should you Buy GameStop stock?
Apr 17, 2015 · Moreover, decline in console demands will significantly impact the New Video Game Hardware segment. Another event that is a threat to GameStop's business model is the declining trend of physical...
What really happened with GameStop?
Jan 27, 2021 · Melvin assumed GameStop’s stock would fall, and bought puts allowing Melvin to sell GameStop’s stocks above the market price, netting Melvin a profit. ... W. W. Norton & Company amazon.com ...
Could GameStop stock supercharge your portfolio?
Jan 27, 2021 · GameStop was languishing below $5 a share as recently as September, but it began to rally after Ryan Cohen, the entrepreneur founder of Chewy.com, took a stake, saying the struggling mall retailer ...
What exactly happened with GameStop?
Jan 28, 2021 · Investors who bet against a stock are called “shorts.” In GameStop’s case, the shorts include at least two big hedge funds. Shorting …

Why is the GameStop stock important?
How are companies losing money on GameStop?
What is the controversy about GameStop stock?
Is GameStop good for the stock market?
Did investors lose money on GameStop?
Did hedge funds lose on GameStop?
What was the problem with GameStop?
What is the GameStop issue?
What is the GameStop incident?
Why did everyone buy GameStop stock?
Is GameStop a good investment right now?
Is GameStop a meme stock?
The Underlying Influences and Effects of the GameStop Market Disruption
The unrest and market interruption that ensued was a testament to the growing market presence and influence that self-directed investors have on the market.
The Current Legal and Regulatory Landscape
Given that the GameStop incident had such a pronounced effect on the stock market, government regulators and the SEC are monitoring the situation for any possible legal ramifications, if any, that apply to the Redittors involved in the market disruption, Robinhood, and any other figures that were involved.
Robinhood: Market Manipulation
Market manipulation has also been discussed in relation to actions taken by Robinhood. On January 28 th, Robinhood restricted their users’ ability to purchase GameStop stock and other companies targeted by r/wallstreetbets.
The Future Outlook of Investing
The reality of the situation is that self-directed investors are growing at an exponential rate, given the increased accessibility to online trading platforms. This trend will undoubtedly cause traditional financial institutions and hedge funds to account for the unpredictability that comes with self-directed investors.
What is Gamestop surge?
On its face, the GameStop surge appears to be a classic pump-and-dump scheme, in which a group of people collude to hype up a stock, artificially increase its share price and then sell at a profit.
What is the problem with Melvin?
The real problem for Melvin is that it was also shorting GameStop, meaning it was borrowing shares of GameStop, selling them on the market and using those proceeds to make other investments. Problem is, Melvin eventually has to return those GameStop shares.
What is call option?
A call option is a contract that gives the owner the right, but not the obligation, to buy a stock at a future date, at a predetermined price. (Options are popular because you’re not left holding the bag if the market goes against you.)
Who is John McDermott?
John McDermott John McDermott is a writer whose work has appeared in Chicago Tribune, Vice, The Atlantic, Fast Company and MEL, among other publications. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses.
Why is GameStop up?
GameStop was languishing below $5 a share as recently as September, but it began to rally after Ryan Cohen, the entrepreneur founder of Chewy.com, took a stake, saying the struggling mall retailer was ripe for a turnaround. On Jan. 11, GameStop said it would add three new directors to its board.
Why are BlackBerry, AMC Entertainment and Bed Bath & Beyond up, too?
It’s not just GameStop that’s surging but a whole group of companies, and with most of them there’s a common thread — they’ve been heavily shorted by big Wall Street firms. That makes their shares prone to spike on any good news, as investors who have shorted the stocks are forced to cover their positions by buying back the shares.
Why are the gains so huge?
In addition to the above-mentioned short interest that makes these stocks prone to spike on good news, individual investors in recent weeks have been using options that are further enhancing the effect. Particularly popular on WallStreetBets are “call” options, which enable investors to buy stocks at a predetermined price in the future.
Where is all of this headed?
Asked this week whether to keep buying GameStop stock at such lofty prices, a Reddit user responded, “You’re good until Friday.” That could indicate that the WallStreetBets crowd may have some sort of plan in place.
What happens when you short a stock?
When the price falls, you buy back the shares and pocket the difference. But shorting a stock is risky — if the price rises, you can lose big. Sometimes you just make a bad bet. But you can also lose if someone tries to push up the price by buying lots of shares, even though the company isn’t doing anything different.
Is shorting a stock risky?
But shorting a stock is risky — if the price rises, you can lose big. Sometimes you just make a bad bet. But you can also lose if someone tries to push up the price by buying lots of shares, even though the company isn’t doing anything different. This is the squeeze.
What does shorting a stock mean?
Shorting a stock essentially means borrowing shares from a broker and selling them, with the agreement you’ll return the shares later. When the price falls, you buy back the shares and pocket the difference. But shorting a stock is risky — if the price rises, you can lose big. Sometimes you just make a bad bet.
Did Melvin Capital close its short position?
A spokesman for Melvin Capital — which needed a $2.75 billion cash injection on Monday because of the squeeze — said the firm had closed out of its short position. Andrew Left of Citron Research, another short, said he had covered the majority of his short position “ at a loss, 100 percent .”.
What is short squeeze?
It’s called a short squeeze, and it involves investors betting on which way a stock will go — up or down. These bets are placed by buying the shares themselves, or stock options, which we’ll grossly oversimplify here. Investors who bet against a stock are called “shorts.”.
Does Biden want to extend unemployment?
President Biden encourages some states to further extend unemployment benefits . The brokers who sell the options contracts have to provide the shares if the trader wants to exercise the option. To mitigate their risk, they buy some of the shares they’d need.

The Underlying Influences and Effects of The Gamestop Market Disruption
- The unrest and market interruption that ensued was a testament to the growing market presence and influence that self-directed investors have on the market. Self-directed investors are viewed as individuals that conduct their own research through digital forums, such as Twitter and Reddit, rather than relying on financial experts to make market dec...
The Current Legal and Regulatory Landscape
- Given that the GameStop incident had such a pronounced effect on the stock market, government regulators and the SEC are monitoring the situation for any possible legal ramifications, if any, that apply to the Redittors involved in the market disruption, Robinhood, and any other figures that were involved. A pump and dump is a scheme that attempts to boost the price of a stock throug…
Robinhood: Market Manipulation
- Market manipulation has also been discussed in relation to actions taken by Robinhood. On January 28th, Robinhood restricted their users’ ability to purchase GameStop stock and other companies targeted by r/wallstreetbets.The next day, Robinhood allowed retail traders to purchase only one share of each company targeted, while hedge fund investors were allowed to …
The Future Outlook of Investing
- The reality of the situation is that self-directed investors are growing at an exponential rate, given the increased accessibility to online trading platforms. This trend will undoubtedly cause traditional financial institutions and hedge funds to account for the unpredictability that comes with self-directed investors. Although some financial pundits believe these market disruptions w…