WallStreetBets and GameStop (GME) have been on the stock media buzz for the past week. GameStop literally went from millions to billions in two weeks; a company expected to go bankrupt a few months back now is the Reddit star.
As of this writing, GME is worth 14.5 billion dollars, and the stock finished at $207 with a high of almost $250. It was selling for $17.05 on Jan. 11, 2021. Nothing has changed fundamentally to justify the price. This is due to the dueling of short-sellers and the new Reddit investors from the WallStreetBets subreddit. WallStreetBets has gained about a million subscribers in a week. The price increase is mainly due to “Gamma Squeeze,” basically market makers forced to buy stocks when someone buys OTM call options. Today Chamath Palihapitia bought 100K’s $110 calls when the stock was about $90, adding to the gamma squeeze, and Elon Must seem to enjoy “short short” events too.
This seems to have made millionaires in the WallStreetBets community and many credit reddit+robinhood/fee-free investing+$timulus check for their reach to the millionaire status.