GameStop surges again with share price up as much as 53%

Company was subject of WallStreetBets sub-Reddit buying frenzy in January

GameStop stock has surged again after the company announced it was planning to turn itself from a bricks and mortar retailer into a technology business.

The value of its stocks was up by as much as 53 per cent on Monday to more than $210.87.

The spike came after GameStop announced that Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen is chairing a new committee to transform the business.

Mr Cohen, who founded the online pet food retailer before it was sold to PetSmart in 2017 for $3.35bn, and former Chewy executive Alan Attal joined the company’s board back in January.

GameStop has been in the news all year since it became the target of retail investors using the WallStreetBets sub-Reddit.

Those amateur investors banded together to drive up the value of struggling GameStop shares to hurt Wall Street professionals and hedge funds who were shorting the stock.

In the space of weeks the value of the company’s shares went from just $17 up to $483, before tumbling back down to $90.

The Reddit-inspired investors also targeted other underperforming stocks, including BlackBerry and AMC Theaters.

Trading company Robinhood drew widespread criticism when it responded to the spiking share prices by restricting the trading of GameStop and other shares.

Despite heavy criticism from politicians like Ted Cruz and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the trading app said that market rules forced them to put the restrictions in place.

Now GameStop says its committee will look at ways to transform the business into a tech company and it says it has appointed a chief technology officer and is looking for a chief financial officer with a tech background.

“The Committee will continue to focus on identifying actions that can transform GameStop into a technology business and help create enduring value for stockholders,” the company said in a statement.

“It is responsible for evaluating areas that include GameStop’s current operational objectives, capital structure and allocation priorities, digital capabilities, organisational footprint, and personnel.”