MW GameStop's stock is climbing again. This is why.

By James Rogers

CEO Ryan Cohen ups his stake in the company, sending shares higher in after-hours trading

Shares of GameStop Corp. were up 3.7% in extended trading Thursday after Chief Executive Ryan Cohen increased his stake in the videogame retailer and original meme stock.

On Thursday, Cohen purchased 500,000 shares at a price of $21.55 in the open market, according to an SEC filing. The purchase took Cohen's GameStop $(GME)$ stake to 37,347,842 shares, or approximately 8.4% of the shares outstanding.

The founder and former CEO of online pet-supplies retailer Chewy Inc. $(CHWY)$ was named GameStop's CEO in September 2023, sending its stock soaring. In December 2023, GameStop's board of directors approved a new investment policy permitting the company to invest in equity securities, among other things. The board gave Cohen the authority to manage the investment portfolio.

Related: GameStop finally makes its bitcoin move, and investors seem fired up

After weeks of bitcoin buzz swirling around the company, GameStop recently added bitcoin (BTCUSD) to its investment policy as a treasury-reserve asset. The videogame retailer also announced a proposed private offering of $1.3 billion worth of convertible senior notes. Earlier this week, GameStop said that it had completed the offering, and also exercised an option to purchase up to an additional $200 million aggregate principal amount of notes.

Cohen was in the most recent MarketWatch 50 - which lists the 50 most influential people in the markets.

Shares of GameStop, like AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. $(AMC)$, skyrocketed in 2021 amid the meme-stock frenzy. However, recent years have been marked by declining sales and intense competition from digital gaming and streaming.

Related: Why GameStop is trying to be the next MicroStrategy with its bitcoin move

Nonetheless, GameStop's stock climbed again last year with the return of influential trader Keith Gill, also known as Roaring Kitty, to social media. Gill, an important figure in the 2021 meme-stock explosion, described himself as a GameStop "believer" in his first YouTube livestream in three years last year.

GameStop shares, which ended Thursday's regular session down 7%, are up 83% in the past 12 months.

-James Rogers

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April 03, 2025 18:32 ET (22:32 GMT)

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