Bed Bath & Beyond plummeted in early-morning trading after Ryan Cohen moved to dump his entire stake in the meme stock.
Emily Elconin/Reuters
Bed Bath & Beyond plummeted up to 18.2% in Thursday’s premarket after a major shareholder moved to sell his stake in the meme stock.
Ryan Cohen’s RC Ventures intends to dump the 9.45 million shares it holds, according to an SEC filing.
Bed Bath & Beyond has soared 300% over the past month after retail traders sparked a buying frenzy.
Bed Bath & Beyond plummeted in premarket trading on Thursday after major shareholder Ryan Cohen signaled his intention to dump his entire stake in the domestic retail company.
Cohen’s RC Ventures has proposed selling its 9.45 million shares in the company, according to a Form 144 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Bed Bath & Beyond crashed by as much as 18.2% after news of the impending sale broke, and had fallen 12.9% to trade at around $20.10 before Thursday’s opening bell.
It’s still up by nearly 300% over the past month, having reclaimed its status as a meme stock darling among retail traders. Stocks including Bed Bath & Beyond and AMC Entertainment have rallied in August as members of groups like Wall Street Bets re-enter the market and bet against hedge funds and institutional investors.
Cohen, who also serves as the chairman of fellow meme stock company GameStop, was Bed Bath & Beyond’s second-largest shareholder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The company has struggled financially even as its stock price has surged, replacing its former chief executive Mark Tritton in June after it missed key earnings targets.
“It hasn’t earned an annual profit since 2018, it’s saddled with more than $3 billion of debt and lease obligations, and it burned nearly $500 million in cash last quarter alone,” ex-hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson said Wednesday. “Nevertheless, on no news, the stock has skyrocketed this month.”