World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE:WWE) stock is making the ground shake, and no, it’s not residual seismic energy from Hulk Hogan body slamming Andre the Giant years ago. The news today is that the entertainment company is finally hitting the road with fans for the first time in over a year. And with the high levels of short interest in WWE stock, it’s only natural that Redditors are turning on the short-squeeze machine.
World Wrestling Entertainment was beat down last year by the Covid-19 pandemic. Like all spectator events, stay-at-home orders and show cancellations have been hampering WWE’s ability to turn its usual profits. Revenue in Q1 was down 9% from last year.
The company made do with what it had, putting on socially distanced shows with digital spectators. However, April marked an impressive return to form just before the Q1 earnings call; WWE’s first in-person ticketed event in over a year, WrestleMania, sold out both nights in a row. The event, which sold over 50,000 tickets, took place over two nights at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
The event’s success shows that WWE is not messing around as Covid-19 restrictions continue to ease up. WWE is putting the pedal to the metal now, with a 25-city tour upcoming, as well as a huge SuperSlam event in Las Vegas in August.
WWE Stock Looking Upward With Return to Normalcy
Even with WWE’s two-night sell out, summer-long tour, and highly anticipated pay-per-view event in August, it seems like Wall Street isn’t quite as bullish on pro wrestling. Roughly 23% of the company’s float is short.
Naturally, r/WallStreetBets is entering the picture, and it’s looking to Suplex the hedge funds once again. Mentions of WWE stock are picking up in a big way on the subreddit, increasing over 5,000% in the last 24 hours. And it appears that the retail investors are putting their money where their mouths are, as trading volumes are ballooning. Over 5 million shares of WWE are exchanging today against the 768,000 daily average.
The efforts of r/WSB are seemingly paying off once again. WWE stock is boosting up 11.5%, to $64.33.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
