Bed Bath & Beyond, GameStop, AMC all surge as meme stock mania makes a comeback

·Head of News

Updated Mon, Aug 8, 2022, 7:37 AM3 min read

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Meme stocks are having a moment. Again.

Shares of Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBBY), GameStop (GME), and AMC (AMC) all surged on no news to start the week, with renewed attention on these names from the traders on Reddit's Wallstreetbets message board investors came to know in early 2021 the only common denominator.

According to data from Ape Wisdom, a site that tracks ticker mentions on Wallstreetbets threads, mentions of Bed, Bath & Beyond, GameStop, and AMC rose notably from Sunday into Monday, with these three names serving as the most popular tickers at market open.

And amid a day that saw the major averages lose steam throughout the day and close little-changed, all three names held onto notable gains.

Bed, Bath & Beyond shot up as much as 50% while GameStop and AMC shares were both higher by more than 15%. Shares of GameStop and AMC were both halted for volatility in the opening minutes of trading.

At market close, Bed, Bath & Beyond shares gained 39%, AMC rose 8%, and GameStop shares rose 8.5% to start the week.

Both GameStop and Bed, Bath & Beyond have ties to Ryan Cohen, the co-founder of Chewy who has become one of the most prominent investors in the meme trade that caught the nation's attention in January 2021.

Cohen is the chairman of the board at GameStop and his firm RC Ventures holds a nearly 10% stake in Bed, Bath & Beyond. In June, Bed, Bath & Beyond CEO Mark Tritton stepped down from his role as chairman and CEO, a shakeup that follows the company reaching an agreement with Cohen back in March to add directors to the board and explore strategic alternatives for its buybuy BABY brand.

A person exits a Bed Bath & Beyond store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., June 29, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly (Andrew Kelly / reuters)

Last week, AMC reported quarterly results that showed losses narrowed from the prior year while also announced a special dividend to shareholders

In a wide-ranging interview on Yahoo Finance Live on Monday morning, AMC CEO Adam Aron talked about the company's recent move to issue preferred stock with the ticker "APE," saying this unconventional decision "takes survival risk off the table" for the business.

2019 American Cinematheque Award - Arrivals - Beverly Hills, California, U.S., November 8, 2019 - Adam Aron. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (Mario Anzuoni / reuters)

Another entry into this latest iteration of the meme market is inexplicable trading in several new Chinese IPOs, with shares of AMTD Digital (HKD) rising over 15,000% at one point following its recent debut. The company, which operates a "comprehensive one-stop digital solutions platform," was at one point worth over $400 billion despite reporting just $25 million of revenue in its most recent year, according to Bloomberg.

Shares of AMTD IDEA Group (AMTD), of which AMTD Digital is a subsidiary, also rose more than 300%.

AMTD Digital shares lost 43% on Monday, while AMTD IDEA fell 36%.

Last week, Magic Empire Global (MEGL), another Hong Kong-based company, surged more than 1,000% following its IPO. Shares of Magic Empire were up as much as 80% early Monday; Magic Empire shares were up 20% at the closing bell on Monday.

This latest resurgence in the meme trade also comes as markets continue to turn around from lows reached in mid-June, with investor Tom Hearden noting Monday that Goldman's "most shorted" basket of stocks has gained 17% in the just the last three-plus trading days.