TLDR
- CEO Ryan Cohen purchased 500,000 additional shares, increasing his stake to 8.4%
- GameStop stock rose 11% to $23.49 on Friday amid broader market decline
- Company recently added Bitcoin to its corporate investment policy
- Insider Daniel William Moore sold 1,608 shares in a separate transaction
- GameStop reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings of $0.30 per share vs $0.09 estimate
GameStop shares jumped 11% last Friday as the broader market fell, following news that CEO Ryan Cohen had increased his stake in the video game retailer. A regulatory filing revealed that Cohen purchased 500,000 shares at an average price of $21.55 on Thursday.
The purchase brings Cohen’s total holdings to more than 37 million shares, representing approximately 8.4% of the company. The stock closed at $23.49 on Friday, up from $21.10 the previous day.
Cohen’s show of confidence comes shortly after GameStop announced it had added Bitcoin to its corporate investment strategy. This announcement accompanied the company’s fourth-quarter results released in late March.
Despite Friday’s gains, GameStop stock has lost about 25% of its value so far this year. However, the price has more than doubled over the past 12 months.
Recent Insider Selling
In contrast to Cohen’s purchase, company insider Daniel William Moore sold 1,608 shares on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.53, totaling $36,228.24.
Following the completion of the sale, Moore directly owns 29,777 shares in GameStop, valued at approximately $670,875.81. This transaction represents a 5.12% decrease in Moore’s position with the company.
The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission and is available for public review on the SEC website.
Financial Performance
GameStop released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported earnings per share of $0.30 for the quarter, exceeding analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.21.
The company posted revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter. While this beat earnings expectations, it fell short of the anticipated $1.48 billion in revenue and represented a 28.5% decrease compared to the same quarter in the previous year.
GameStop achieved a net margin of 1.45% and a return on equity of 2.11% during this period. This performance comes as the company continues to navigate challenging retail conditions.
For the current fiscal year, analysts forecast that GameStop will post earnings of $0.08 per share. This reflects ongoing pressures in the physical retail gaming market as digital distribution continues to grow.
Market Metrics and Analyst Views
GameStop currently has a market capitalization of approximately $10.44 billion. The stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.68 and has a beta of -0.29.
The company’s stock has shown volatility over the past year, reaching a high of $64.83 and a low of $9.95. Its 50-day moving average price stands at $24.83, while the 200-day average is $25.69.
Analyst coverage of GameStop remains limited. StockNews.com recently upgraded the stock from “sell” to “hold” in late March. Meanwhile, Wedbush maintained a price target of $11.50 for the stock.
Trading volume has remained high, with Friday seeing 20.5 million shares change hands, slightly above the average volume of 20.1 million.
Institutional investors continue to make moves regarding their GameStop holdings. State Street Corp increased its stake by 38% in the third quarter, while Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position by 5.5% in the fourth quarter.
Vanguard Group now holds 39.1 million shares, valued at approximately $1.23 billion, making it one of the largest institutional holders of GameStop stock.
Other notable institutional investors include Geode Capital Management LLC, which increased its holdings by 41.8% in the third quarter, and D. E. Shaw & Co., which dramatically boosted its position with a 606.7% increase in the fourth quarter.
Currently, hedge funds and institutional investors collectively own about 29.21% of GameStop’s outstanding shares. This relatively low institutional ownership continues to set GameStop apart from many other publicly traded companies of similar size.
Ryan Cohen’s latest share purchase suggests confidence in the company’s direction despite ongoing challenges in the retail gaming sector. The stock closed at $23.34 on Friday, April 4th, 2025.
