Investing

Meme Stock Movers for 11/3: AMC, Bed Bath & Beyond, GameStop, Workhorse

Paul Ausick

Published: November 3, 2021 9:17 am

Last Updated: November 3, 2021 9:18 am

Nearly 20 years after Glassman and Hassett predicted that the Dow Jones industrial average would rise to 36,000, their prediction came true on Monday and was certified on Tuesday, when the index closed above 36,000 for the first time. They had predicted the Dow would reach that level by 2002 or 2004. That only goes to demonstrate once again Yogi Berra’s maxim: “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Alas, the Dow dipped below 36,000 in Wednesday’s premarket.

Overall, the market appeared to be headed for a flat opening, as analysts and investors await the afternoon’s announcement from the Federal Open Market Committee. The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates as they are and to announce that the bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing, will begin winding down. Crude oil traded down more than 2% Wednesday morning at around $82 a barrel, and Bitcoin dipped below $63,000. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dipped by about two basis points as well.

Among the meme stocks, Wednesday may see a revival in three of the OG stocks. First off, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), following last night’s announcements of a partnership deal with Kroger, a new digital marketplace that will include third-party vendors, and a boost of $400 million in its share buyback program to a total of $1 billion by the end of this year. Shares soared by 80%, likely due to a spate of buying as retail investors took advantage of the company’s high level of short interest (28.4%, according to Fintel) to force short sellers to cover their bets and push the shares even higher. The stock traded up about 50% in Wednesday’s premarket.

Shares of another venerable meme stock, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC), added 4.6% on Tuesday and were up by a like amount in Wednesday’s premarket. Box office receipts for the recently released sci-fi classic, “Dune,” reached just $41 million for its opening weekend. The film also was released simultaneously on HBO Max. The latest James Bond movie, “No Time to Die,” was released only in theaters and grabbed an opening weekend haul of $55.2 million. “Venom, Let There Be Carnage,” also released only in theaters, raked in $90 million on its opening weekend. The message to moviemakers should be that people want to see big movies on the big screen and studios are leaving a pile of money on the table with these simultaneous releases to streaming.

Not to be left out of the merriment, GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) added about 3.5% to its share price on Tuesday and was up nearly 4% more in Wednesday’s premarket. The company had no specific news, but since when has that mattered.

Electric vehicle maker Workhorse Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WKHS) added 7% to its share price on Tuesday and traded down by less than 1% in the premarket session Wednesday. The company had no specific news but was likely carried along on rising investor interest in EV stocks thanks to Lucid’s first deliveries and a massive valuation ($60 billion) for the Rivian IPO due next week.