Meme Stock Craze Is Back As AMC, GameStop, And Bed Bath & Beyond Soar

Meme mania has returned to the stock market with a vengeance.

Photo Insert: A Bed Bath & Beyond store opening. The retailer's stocks shot up 40% Monday and has more than doubled in the past week.

Shares of movie theater chain AMC, video game retailer GameStop and struggling home furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond soared Monday, extending last week's big gains, Paul R. LaMonica reported for CNN Business on August 9, 2022.

AMC was up 16% and has now spiked 70% in just the past five trading days while Bed Bath & Beyond shot up 40% Monday and has more than doubled in the past week. GameStop rose 12% Monday and has gained 30% in the last five days.

All three consumer stocks have rabid followings among individual investors on Reddit and other social media sites. These investors are hoping to punish hedge funds and big institutional firms who have bet against these stocks by short-selling them. Short sellers profit when a stock goes down.

This army of traders has galvanized on Reddit to support these so-called meme stocks —even though there are serious questions about their fundamentals. All three firms are expected to lose money this year and next.

Streaming media services and gaming downloads pose challenges for AMC and GameStop. Bed Bath & Beyond just ousted its CEO following less than three years on the job after the company reported lousy results in June.

But none of that matters to the "apes" on Reddit, a nickname that many meme stock fans have adopted for themselves. GameStop and AMC also seem to relish their underdog status.

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