Activist investor and GameStop director Ryan Cohen has indeed liquidated Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY-US), not just “Advance Notice”.
Cohen’s investment firm, RC Ventures, dumped its BBBY holdings at between $18.68 and $29.22 a share on Tuesday and Wednesday, and even sold call options, the filing shows.
Meme stocks Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY-US) closed up nearly 12% on Wednesday (17th), but after the market came out Ryan Cohen submitted a 144 form to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), showing that RC Ventures proposed to sell all BBBY shares, resulting in a sharp drop after the market, and all taking back the trade. Time gains, down more than 18%.
However, in response to the news that Cohen is preparing to sell his holdings on Wednesday, retail investors emphasized on the Reddit platform Wall Street Bets forum that the 144 form is only a notice of proposed sale, which is to obtain the right to sell the holdings in the next 90 days, not already sold. Some retail investors believe that Cohen will not really sell BBBY, because Cohen is like “the king of the mountain of meme stocks”.
BBBY closed down 19.63% after Thursday’s filing, before crashing more than 44% after the market closed at $10.27 a share. Cohen initially bought BBBY shares at an average price of $15.34 per share.
Bed Bath & Beyond said Wednesday it had reached a “constructive agreement” with RC Ventures in March and was exploring potential changes to its financial structure.
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond have soared this month and have seen unusually high volume this month, in part due to the apparent resurgence of the meme boom, fueled by retail investors. Shares of BBBY rose more than 200% in August through Thursday’s close.