What is GameStop and why does everyone care?
Hello Eagle Wealth Community,
Did you hear GameStop went viral?
Here’s a quick guide to the market frenzy you’re seeing in the headlines.
Long blog ahead. (Buckle up, it’s a little complicated.)
What is GameStop and why does everyone care?
GameStop is a brick-and-mortar video game chain that hit challenging times in the pandemic. Like many distressed companies, it was targeted by short sellers betting that the stock’s price would go down.1
Basically, short sellers do the opposite of most investors. They try to make money when a stock’s price falls. They borrow shares from their brokerage for a fee, immediately sell them, and plan to buy them back later at a lower price when the price falls. Shorting is a strategy used by certain types of hedge funds.
What’s a short squeeze?
Shorting stocks is risky since any positive news or interest in a company can drive the stock’s price up. When short sellers bet wrong and a stock’s price rises, they can be forced to buy shares at higher prices to cover their losses (or pony up more collateral).
A squeeze happens when short sellers scramble to buy shares to cover their positions when the stock price is rising. The more investors who buy and hold those shares, the harder it is for short sellers to find shares to buy (exposing them to potentially huge losses).
With us so far?
Where does Reddit come in?
After it became clear that short sellers were betting on GameStop’s demise, the popular company became the focus of amateur traders on the popular WallStreetBets forum on Reddit, a popular community of chatrooms and forums.
By banding together and coordinating buying activity, these small-time traders boosted the stock’s price far above what the company’s financial fundamentals support, putting pressure on the hedge funds betting the other way.2
The stock went viral.
Why?
Social media chatter + free trading apps like Robinhood + bull market + new investors with time on their hands = FRENZY
Is it illegal? That’s a stretch. These armchair traders are egging each other into speculative bets, but we don’t think it rises to the level of illegal market manipulation. However, regulators might feel differently.
Is it bad for markets? The battle between gleeful amateurs pushing prices up and hedge funds scrambling to force prices down has led to some of the highest volume trading days on record and cost short sellers billions.3
Is this David vs. Goliath?
We don’t think the GameStop bubble is just about greed or boredom or euphoria. We see a powerful narrative at play.
We think a lot of these small traders are angry at the perception that All-Powerful Wall Street is pulling strings and using their connections to hurt mom-and-pop investors. They see this as an opportunity to stick it to the big-money pros by using their own strategies against them.
It’s new school vs. old school. Rebels vs. the Empire. Bueller vs. Principal Rooney. Reddit vs. CNBC.
So, should I be investing in GameStop?
No. GameStop’s stock is massively inflated, and trading has been halted multiple times because of its meteoric rise.4 At this point, it looks like folks are piling in just to say they were there.
When the bubble bursts, it’ll be a rush to sell and many GameStop holders will end up losing most of their investment.
(It might already be happening by the time you read this.)
We’ve seen frenzies like this many times before. Tulip mania in the 1630s, the Nifty Fifty in the 1970s, the dotcoms in the 1990s, Bitcoin’s multiple bubbles over the last decade, etc. We’ll see more in the future.
Why are people angry at Robinhood?
Amidst the buying frenzy, Robinhood and other popular brokerage platforms suddenly restricted trading on several red-hot stocks, including GameStop.5
Protests erupted from investors, many market pros (not the short sellers, obviously), lawmakers and more.
Did Robinhood halt trading to appease big investors at the expense of small investors? Did they do it to protect markets from manipulation and liquidity problems?
We dislike the idea that a broker can just shut down trading in a security. We think it opens the door to situations where platforms prioritize one investor over another and that’s a massive conflict of interest.
But frankly, it’s wild that a bunch of regular folks with small trading accounts can bring massive institutional investors to their knees.
What are the implications of this frenzy?
There’s no predicting the future, obviously, but we think a few things are likely. Most bubbles end naturally when the euphoria turns to panic, folks start selling, and the price crashes.
However, it’s also possible that regulators will step in if they think there’s risk to markets (or they see too many investors getting hurt).
We think this ride’s going to end in tears for many folks caught up in it. But we’re not sure who will be crying hardest.
We think markets could see some wild swings and pull back from their frothy highs, but we don’t see major risk yet.
But, we think we’ll be left with some pressing questions once the dust settles.
Will social media traders continue to drive big market moves?
Do platforms have the right to arbitrarily decide customers can’t trade?
Are coordinated moves by small investors a danger to markets?
Should regulators be watching hedge funds more closely?
This is an evolving situation so we’re keeping a close eye on markets to see what might happen next.
Do you have questions? Thoughts? Please hit “reply” and let us know.
Until next week,
Your Eagle Wealth Team
EWM Teaching At COCC
Do you have a friend or relative who could use some financial planning help? Then we’ve got good news. For over 10 years we’ve been volunteering at COCC, partnering with them on financial planning classes. We’re big believers in the power of education and this is one of the ways we’re able to give back to our community.
This winter and spring, we’re returning to teach three virtual classes at Central Oregon Community College. They’re filling fast so have your friends check out our website for details.
Invest in Yourself: Steps to Financial Freedom for Career Professionals (Ages 35-55)
Offered in February and April
Pathway to Retirement: Ready, Set, Plan & Retire (Ages 55-70)
Offered in February and May
Retirement Refresh: Are you Still On the Right Path? (Ages 65+)
Offered in March and June
**These courses are not intended for current clients. The planning we’ve done with you through personal meetings far exceeds what’s possible in a classroom of students. Please remember though, if you’ve had any changes in your life that may affect your current plan, please call us so we can discuss and make any necessary updates.
Bull Market Takes a Breather
On Monday, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite overcame early losses to post new all-time highs.4
Stocks rode a roller coaster on Wednesday, falling sharply despite above-consensus earnings results, only to come roaring back the following day. Stocks suffered another broad retreat on Friday, sending the major indices to their worst weekly performance since October.4,5
Earnings continued to surprise to the upside, with 81% of companies in the S&P 500 that reported results by last Thursday morning exceeding analysts’ expectations.6
Shorts Come Into Focus
The ability of social media to stoke passions and provide a catalyst to herd behavior made itself evident on Wall Street last week.
A chat forum became the central hub for motivating individual investors to trade certain stocks with large short positions. This unexpected buying activity roiled markets and fueled a sharp rise in their stock prices. The sudden surge higher forced some fund managers to buy stocks in these companies at higher prices, resulting in substantial losses for the firms.
It’s difficult to say whether this social media phenomenon has long-term implications, though it is likely to change how professional investors evaluate trading strategies in the future.
In order to sell short, you are required to open a margin account. Selling short is not suitable for all investors. Margin trading entails greater risk, including the risk of unlimited losses in a position and incurrence of margin interest debt. You should consider your financial situation and risk tolerance before trading on margin.
This Week: Key Economic Data
Monday: Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Index.
Wednesday: Automated Data Processing (ADP) Employment Report. Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Services Index.
Thursday: Jobless Claims. Factory Orders.
Friday: Employment Situation Report.
Source: Econoday, January 29, 2021
The Econoday economic calendar lists upcoming U.S. economic data releases (including key economic indicators), Federal Reserve policy meetings, and speaking engagements of Federal Reserve officials. The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The forecasts or forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and may not materialize. The forecasts also are subject to revision.
This Week: Companies Reporting Earnings
Monday: Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (TMO).
Tuesday: Amazon.com (AMZN), Alibaba Group (BABA), Alphabet, Inc. (GOOG), ExxonMobil (XOM), Pfizer (PFE), Amgen (AMGN), United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS), Electronic Arts (EA), Emerson Electric (EMR), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG).
Wednesday: Abbvie (ABBV), Qualcomm (QCOM), PayPal Holdings (PYPL), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
Thursday: Ford Motor Company (F), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Merck (MRK), Snap, Inc. (SNAP), Prudential Financial (PRU), Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD), Penn National Gaming (PENN).
Friday: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN), Illinois Tool Works, Inc. (ITW).
Source: Zacks, January 29, 2021
Companies mentioned are for informational purposes only. It should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of the securities. Investing involves risks, and investment decisions should be based on your own goals, time horizon, and tolerance for risk. The return and principal value of investments will fluctuate as market conditions change. When sold, investments may be worth more or less than their original cost. Companies may reschedule when they report earnings without notice.
