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

GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) saw 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. Based on an average daily volume of 9,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days. Currently, 12.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Alain Attal bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.75 per share, for a total transaction of $257,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 572,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,740,948. This trade represents a 1.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ryan Cohen purchased 500,000 shares of GameStop stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.55 per share, for a total transaction of $10,775,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now 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 position. 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

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of GameStop by 223.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in GameStop in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in GameStop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in GameStop by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in GameStop by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GME shares. Wedbush set a $11.50 price target on shares of GameStop in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com upgraded GameStop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th.

GameStop Price Performance

NYSE GME traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $26.81. 7,343,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,347,810. The stock has a market cap of $11.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 148.95 and a beta of -0.44. GameStop has a one year low of $10.01 and a one year high of $64.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.93.

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

About GameStop

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.