5 Investors Betting Big on GameStop (GME) Stock

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What’s going on with GameStop (NYSE:GME) stock? Today, shares of the gaming and electronics retailer closed up 30% on seemingly no news.

GameStop (GME) video game and electronics store logo sign in Bay Terrace, Queens, NY.
Source: quietbits / Shutterstock.com

On March 14, GameStop reached a year-to-date (YTD) low close of $78.11. Since then, however, the stock has been unstoppable, gaining more than 55%. What’s more, today’s close marks the sixth-straight day of gains.

According to The Street, the last time GME stock saw this strong of an upward move in such a short period of time was last June. Back then, shares of GameStop “nearly doubled to over $300 in four weeks.”

Why Is GME Stock Up Today?

Today, GameStop’s price appreciation seems to be driven by retail traders. According to ApeWisdom, GME is the top trending ticker on Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets right now. Mentions on the forum up more than 400% over the past 24 hours. 

In addition, GameStop currently has an extremely high short interest as a percentage of float. The figure comes in at 18.51% according to Fintel. Based on that, it would take shorts about three days to completely cover their positions.

On top of this, Seeking Alpha notes that GME stock has seen an increase in out-of-the-money call buying. This could potentially lead to a gamma squeeze, which is when “call writers buy the underlying shares, increasing demand and boosting the price.”

So, with a potential gamma squeeze at play here, let’s take a look at how institutional investors feel about GME stock.

5 Investor Betting Big on GameStop

Tracking institutional investments is important because it allows retail investors to see what some of the world’s smartest money managers are doing. Institutional investors can also provide price support and liquidity for stocks.

According to WhaleWisdom, which tracks all 13F filers, 275 funds hold GME stock. That’s an increase of five funds from the prior quarter. Furthermore, 5o funds initiated new positions in GME stock during the fourth quarter, while 42 funds completely sold out. However, the institutional investor put/call ratio lies at 1.31. This means more funds are holding put options on GME than call options.

With that in mind, here are the top five institutional shareholders of GameStop stock.

  1. Vanguard Group: 5.93 million shares or 7.77% ownership.
  2. BlackRock (NYSE:BLK): 5.19 million shares or 6.8% ownership.
  3. Hestia Capital Partners: 4.73 million shares or 6.19% ownership.
  4. State Street: 1.65 million shares or 2.17% ownership.
  5. Geode Capital Management: 773,880 shares or 1.01% ownership.

On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (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.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2022/03/5-investors-betting-big-on-gamestop-gme-stock/.

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