Meme stock Bed Bath & Beyond ‘decoupled from economic reality’ but now getting crushed; it isn’t alone

This is an eventful time for meme stocks, as evidenced by Bed Bath & Beyond’s rollercoaster week.

Shares of the troubled retailer skyrocketed recently, driven by the Wall Street Bets crowd on Reddit. However, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission made public on Wednesday afternoon showed that investor Ryan Cohen planned to unload his large stake in the home goods retailer. Then an SEC filing made public after markets closed Thursday showed that Cohen’s RC Ventures had sold its entire stake in Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
BBBY,
-40.54%
,
sending its shares plunging for a second consecutive day.

Bed Bath & Beyond’s stock fell 40.5% in afternoon trading on Friday, after losing 19.6% on Thursday. It was on track to break the current record one-day decline of 36.4% suffered on Jan. 28, 2021.

See Now: Ryan Cohen cashed out of Bed Bath & Beyond stock with more than $58 million profit; shares plunge again

The stock was down 15.0% for the week, as the two-day selloff of 52.2% wiped out the 78.2% rally in the first three days. Still, the stock was up 110.3% over the past month, outpacing the S&P 500 index’s
SPX,
-1.29%

7.6% gain.

“With BBBY continuing to exhibit extreme moves alongside significant option volumes, we look to remind investors of the somewhat unique volatility implications that can arise in these meme-type setups, where price and implied volatility often move together,” wrote Christopher Jacobson, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, in a note released on Friday.

This week, analysts reiterated the challenges facing Bed Bath & Beyond, which has been wrestling with inventory struggles and dwindling sales. Cash also remains a worry. “We believe the writing is on the wall that BBBY shares have again decoupled from economic reality,” wrote Wells Fargo analyst Zachary Fadem, in a note released on Thursday.

See Now: Bed Bath & Beyond stock sinks after Ryan Cohen discloses plan to unload stake; cash remains a worry, say analysts

Other meme stocks have also seen selloffs to end the week. Vinco Ventures Inc. shares
BBIG,
-20.00%

fell 20.3% on Friday, but was still up 63.4% on the week.

Elsewhere, shares of Weber Inc.
WEBR,
-11.50%
,
which scored a record 27.2% rally on Thursday, fell 0.2% on Friday, but was still up 44.4% for the week.

GameStop Corp.
GME,
-3.80%

saw its stock decline 7.9% on Friday while its fellow meme stock darling AMC Entertainment Holding Inc.
AMC,
-6.58%

also pulled back, falling 7.3%. That extended the weekly losses to 14.2% for GameStop and to 26.8% for AMC.

Also read: ‘Zombie’ stocks AMC and GameStop could feel the cash burn, says New Construct.

AMC shares were also weighed down by a report in The Wall Street Journal that U.K. cinema chain Cineworld Group PLC
CNWGY,
-45.98%

CINE,
-58.27%
,
 the parent of Regal Entertainment Group, was preparing to file for bankruptcy.

Earlier this month AMC announced its “APE” special dividend, a nod to the investors who turned the company into a meme stock, who often refer to themselves as “apes” or “ape nation.”

See Now: ‘Zombie’ stocks AMC and GameStop could feel the cash burn, says New Constructs

The APEs are scheduled to start trading on Monday, keeping meme stocks firmly in the spotlight.

However, cash remains a concern in relation to AMC and GameStop, according to research firm New Constructs.

Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/meme-stock-bed-bath-beyond-decoupled-from-economic-reality-it-isnt-alone-11660931163?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo