GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 47,560,000 shares, an increase of 68.3% from the March 15th total of 28,260,000 shares. Approximately 12.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 9,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days.

GameStop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GME traded up $0.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $26.81. 7,343,855 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,347,810. GameStop has a 52-week low of $10.01 and a 52-week high of $64.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.62 and a 200 day moving average of $25.93. The company has a market cap of $11.99 billion, a PE ratio of 148.95 and a beta of -0.44.

GameStop (NYSE:GME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.21. GameStop had a return on equity of 2.11% and a net margin of 1.45%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 28.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that GameStop will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at GameStop

In other news, Director Lawrence Cheng acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.54 per share, for a total transaction of $107,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 83,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,787,820. This trade represents a 6.41 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Cohen bought 500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.55 per share, with a total value of $10,775,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,347,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $804,845,995.10. The trade was a 1.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 515,000 shares of company stock worth $11,140,200. Corporate insiders own 12.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GME. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in GameStop in the third quarter worth $285,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in GameStop during the third quarter valued at about $230,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in GameStop by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 471,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,804,000 after acquiring an additional 138,597 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in GameStop by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 774,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,750,000 after acquiring an additional 244,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in GameStop by 65.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 29.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GME. StockNews.com raised GameStop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wedbush set a $11.50 target price on shares of GameStop in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th.

GameStop Company Profile

GameStop Corp., a specialty retailer, provides games and entertainment products through its stores and ecommerce platforms in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The company sells new and pre-owned gaming platforms; accessories, such as controllers, gaming headsets, and virtual reality products; new and pre-owned gaming software; and in-game digital currency, digital downloadable content, and full-game downloads.