Bed Bath & Beyond's big dilemma: Can it survive?
Bed Bath & Beyond was plunged into the volatile world of meme-stock trading this year. The results have been ugly as the company searches for a way to survive.
Shares in Bed Bath & Beyond, a company that was plunged into the volatile world of meme-stock trading this year, fell approximately 41% Friday, days after its share price had more than doubled.
The immediate catalyst for the Friday sell-off appeared to be the same as the one that caused the brief run-up earlier in the week and well before it: activist investor Ryan Cohen.
Cohen, the co-founder of online pet retailer Chewy, has been at the vanguard of the meme-stock movement, having helped lead a recovery in the price of video game retailer GameStop after disclosing his purchase of a stake in that company in 2020 on the belief that it was undervalued.
In March, Cohen revealed his purchase of a 9.8% stake in Bed Bath & Beyond. Online retail investors took the announcement as a hint that the home goods retailer was Cohen's next turnaround candidate. Cohen went on to pressure the company to force out then-CEO Mark Tritton and appoint three hand-picked board members.
On Monday, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealed Cohen had, in April, placed bets that Bed Bath & Beyond’s shares would continue to increase.
Rating: 5