GameStop’s shares were down over 8% in Tuesday premarket trading after Bloomberg reported that investor Carl Icahn holds a short position against the retailer’s shares. The report says Icahn first began shorting GME during the meme-stock frenzy in 2021 as he believes the company’s shares are not “trading on its fundamentals and will continue to fall.”
Icahn Started Shorting GameStop Near the Stock’s Peak in 2021
Shares of GameStop are in the red by more than 8% in premarket trading Tuesday after Bloomberg reported that activist investor Carl Icahn has been holding a short position against the video game retailer since the meme-stock frenzy. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the report stated that Icahn began adding to his short position against GME near the stock’s all-time high of $483 per share in 2021.
“The investor, who has added to his position from time to time, is betting that GameStop’s stock isn’t trading on its fundamentals and will continue to fall, the people said.”
Billionaire Investor Carl Icahn Is Betting Against GameStop Shares
The retailer’s shares are currently trading at $25.16 apiece, with its market cap down to $7.66 billion. GameStop’s stock is down over 34% this year amid a broader market downturn.
The reports of Icahn’s short position led to a “relatively measured” response on social media, including Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum, which was at the center of the meme-stock boom last year. GameStop became one of the so-called meme stocks when a group of retail traders poured their money into the likes of GME and AMC Entertainment to burn the funds of large money managers who were betting against these companies.
This resulted in numerous institutional investors and hedge funds sustaining heavy losses. One of those funds was Melvin Capital, which shut down earlier this year due to large-scale losses from its short bet against GME in 2021.
GameStop Launches Crypto Wallet on iOS App Store
GameStop announced Monday that its crypto and non-fungible token (NFT) wallet is now available on the iOS app store. The retailer initially expanded the wallet to iOS after initially releasing it for Android devices and as a Chrome browser extension.
The move comes more than a week after GameStop cut its ties with the embattled crypto exchange FTX, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. GME had a pilot gift card marketing partnership with FTX.US and said it will be providing refunds to any affected users.
GameStop said at the start of the month that its long-awaited NFT marketplace crossed the $5 million trading volume milestone after seeing an unimpressive launch in July 2022. The stronger interest in GameStop’s NFT marketplace came despite the sharp downturn in the NFT market in Q3 2022.
This article originally appeared on The Tokenist
Take Charge of Your Retirement In Just A Few Minutes (Sponsor)
Retirement planning doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. The key is finding expert guidance—and SmartAsset’s made it easier than ever for you to connect with a vetted financial advisor.
Here’s how it works:
- Answer a Few Simple Questions. Tell us a bit about your goals and preferences—it only takes a few minutes!
- Get Matched with Vetted Advisors Our smart tool matches you with up to three pre-screened, vetted advisors who serve your area and are held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. Click here to begin
- Choose Your Fit Review their profiles, schedule an introductory call (or meet in person), and select the advisor who feel is right for you.
Why wait? Start building the retirement you’ve always dreamed of. Click here to get started today!
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.