Factbox: Mortgage dealers hop on Reddit-fueled short squeeze bandwagon
03/03/2021 17:49
NEW YORK, March 3 (Reuters) - Mortgage dealers UWM Holdings
Corp UWMC.N and Rocket Companies RKT.N are the latest stocks
to be targeted in a short squeeze trading storm.
Driven by online forums such as Reddit's WallStreetBets, the
phenomenon has raised concerns in recent weeks among
short-sellers and regulators alike.
Here are some of the stocks involved in the initial frenzy
and how they have fared since, as of Tuesday's close:
** Shares of GameStop GME.N - which had been heavily
touted on Reddit’s WallStreetBets - rose by as much as 2,460% on
the year to a high of $482.25 in January, as some institutions
that had bet on declines in the stock were forced to unwind
their positions amid a flood of buying. The stock pared most of
that rally earlier this month but remains 527% higher on the
year.
** AMC Entertainment Holdings' AMC.N stock surged after
the company said bankruptcy talks were "completely off the
table." At the rally's apex, its shares touched $20.36, an 860%
jump from Dec. 31. Tuesday's closing price put the stock up 321%
in 2021.
** Shares of Canada’s Blackberry BB.N rallied as much as
334% but had pared that to a 58% year-to-date advance as of
Tuesday. The company announced late last month that it was
expanding its partnership with China-based search platform Baidu
Inc BIDU.O
** At one point, home furnishings retailer Bed Bath &
Beyond's BBBY.O had jumped by 204% year-to-date, but its
advance has since cooled to 56%.
** Pharmaceutical firm CEL-SCI Corp CVM.N shares hit a
zenith of $40.77, a 247% advance on the year, a gain that has
since shrunk to 59%.
** Finland-based Nokia NOK.N joined the short squeeze
stampede, at one point touching a 150% year-to-date gain at
$9.79 per share. That advance was recently a more modest 3%.
** Consumer electronics company Koss Corp KOSS.O was also
caught in the mania, soaring by 3,605% at one point. The stock
is up 371% so far in 2021.
** Shares of cannabis companies - which have already notched
big rallies on hopes of decriminalization under U.S. President
Joe Biden - have been among the latest to experience wild
fluctuations. Weekly volumes in cannabis stock options soared to
an all-time high by Thursday, according to CBOE Global Markets,
and U.S.-listed shares of Tilray Inc TLRY.O and Aphria Inc
APHA.O , along with Sundial Growers SNDL.O , were at one point
up on the year by 711%, 367% and 736%, respectively. As of
Tuesday's close, they had gained between 174% and
214%. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2KH3LD
** On Tuesday, Mortgage dealers UWM Holdings Corp UWMC.N
and Rocket Companies RKT.N gained 71% and 20%, respectively,
despite a slew of recently canceled initial public offerings in
the sector in recent weeks, which point to fears the housing
market may have reached a peak. So far today, UWM Holdings is up
8.5%, while Rocket Companies is down 27.9% urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2L12TQ
(Reporting by Stephen Culp; editing by Barbara Lewis)
((stephen.culp@thomsonreuters.com; 646-223-6076;))