Shares of GameStop Corp. GME 30.72% rose 16% in after-hours trading after the videogame retailer’s chairman disclosed his firm bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock on Tuesday.
Ryan Cohen’s RC Ventures LLC said it paid between $96.81 and $108.82 for the shares it purchased Tuesday. Mr. Cohen owns an 11.9% stake in the retailer, or 9.1 million shares.
“I put my money where my mouth is,” Mr. Cohen tweeted on Tuesday evening.
GameStop’s stock closed Tuesday at $123.14, up 31% for the day. The company’s share price has been on a roller-coaster ride since early last year when it was one of the first companies to be targeted by a monthslong, social-media-fueled trading frenzy. It peaked at around $350 a share last year.
But shares closed as low as $78.11 over worries about the company’s holiday quarter performance and its efforts to turn a profit.
Last week, the company recorded an unexpected loss, but it reported revenue of $2.25 billion, better than what analysts were expecting.
Mr. Cohen built a big GameStop stake and in late 2020 criticized the company for moving too slowly toward e-commerce. He joined GameStop’s board in January 2021 and took over as chairman in June 2021.
GameStop also changed its leadership, naming Matt Furlong, a former Amazon.com Inc. veteran, as its chief executive. Along with electing Mr. Cohen, a Chewy Inc. CHWY 10.03% co-founder, as chairman, shareholders also elected a new slate of directors.
Write to Robert Barba at [email protected]
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Appeared in the March 23, 2022, print edition as ‘GameStop Chairman Buys Stock, Lifts Price.’