Why Is Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) Stock Up 12% Today?
Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) is rising today on a push from meme stock investors.
The home furnishing retailer has been highly volatile lately as it has struggled to remain above water amid an onslaught of bad news and unfavorable market conditions. As BBBY stock has repeatedly failed to garner any serious momentum, the retail investor army that helped it rise in August has been working overtime. But negative headlines are never far away for the failing company and they only seem to be increasing.
Rumors of bankruptcy have abounded since well before the year began. And today brought news that Bed Bath & Beyond is preparing to close even more retail locations.
Let’s take a closer look at what investors can expect.
What’s Happening With BBBY Stock
On Jan. 30, the Wall Street Journal reported that Bed Bath & Beyond plans to close “87 of its flagship stores, its entire Harmon chain of drugstores and five Buybuy Baby stores.” That certainly is not the type of news that pushes shares up yet BBBY stock surged as markets opened today.
As can be expected, attention from retail traders drove this early morning spike. Recent data from ApeWisdom indicates that mentions of BBBY stock across social media have risen 69% in the past 24 hours while upvotes increased by an impressive 584% and the number of mentioning users is up 55%. Nearby keywords for these searches include “short,” “squeeze” and “APRN,” a reference to the trading symbol for fellow meme stock Blue Apron Holdings (NYSE:APRN).
Clearly, the r/WallStreetBets crowd is still working hard to keep BBBY stock from sinking. But when the momentum fades, shares will fall again, erasing all growth from today. In fact, they are already falling. BBBY spiked by over 27% this morning, passing $3 per share. But from there it began to fall and hasn’t stopped since. As of this writing, it is up less than 12% for the day and shows no signs of a rebound. More than likely, markets are adjusting to the fact that the company is closing more stories.
Thus, in all likelihood, BBBY will end the day back in the red.
On the date of publication, Samuel O’Brient did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Samuel O’Brient has been covering financial markets and analyzing economic policy for three-plus years. His areas of expertise involve electric vehicle (EV) stocks, green energy and NFTs. O’Brient loves helping everyone understand the complexities of economics. He is ranked in the top 15% of stock pickers on TipRanks.
More from InvestorPlace