GameStop (GME) rallied hard during the last hour of trading on Wednesday, and is moving higher in after-hours. Shares of the game retailer ended the session up more than 100%. Shares were halted for volatility twice in the last hour of trading. The stock was moving up as much as 100% about 50 minutes after the market closed. An hour later it was up about 50% in after hours.
GameStop shares were at the center of a massive short squeeze in January fueled by Redditors on WallStreetBets who drove up prices as high as $483 each.
On Wednesday, Redditors on the forum discussed the upcoming exit of GameStop's CFO Jim Bell. The company announced that Bell will be stepping down in March.
GameStop was recently at the center of a congressional hearing discussing the short squeeze last month which pitted WallStreetBets members against hedge funds. RobinHood CEO Vlad Tenev took part in the hearing. In his testimony to congress he denied any collusion with hedge funds to disable buying of GameStop shares in order to drive the stock price lower. The brokerage firm restricted trading on the stock on January 28. That day the stock began a downward spiral. The declines continued as restrictions were eased in the days that followed.
Citadel CEO Kenneth C. Griffin also took part in the hearing, along with Melvin Capital founder and CIO, Gabriel Plotkin, and Keith Gill, a YouTuber known as "Roaring Kitty" who has been bullish on GameStop for over a year.
Other recently shorted stocks which saw double digit percentage gains today include Koss Corporation (KOSS) , Express (EXPR), and AMC Entertainment (AMC).
Ines covers the U.S. stock market. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre
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