By
Chimamanda U. Martha
January 18th, 2024
GameStop announced it intends to launch a marketplace for non-fungible tokens by the end of the second quarter of the fiscal year 2022.
GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME) stock surged over 24 percent on Monday to close the day trading at $189.59. The gains extended during the after-hours with approximately 0.35 percent. GameStop shares have significantly rebounded in the past two weeks after months of correction. While the company did not have any fundamental news, there are reports of speculative traders on Reddit.
The meme stock has had an interesting past with retail traders. Remember a group of organized traders dubbed WallStreetBets who rocked meme stocks last year. Well, GameStop has been a favorite of many due to its growing volatility.
According to market analytics provided by MarketWatch, GameStop shares are up approximately 102 percent in the past five days, despite a poor rating by analysts.
Notably, GME shares are up approximately 5 percent and 27 percent in the past year and YTD respectively through Monday. The video gaming retailer has seen its market cap rise to approximately $11.7 billion.
In the past 52 weeks, GME shares have ranged between 77.58 and 344.66. As of March 15, 2022, the total short interest recorded by MarketWatch was $12.35 million. Whereby the total percentage of float shorted is at 19.63 percent.
GameStop (GME) Stock and Company’s Performance
Despite the ongoing Covid-related supply chain disruptions, GameStop has recorded notable success over the past two years. The company has transitioned its business to online retail significantly recently.
The past two weeks’ gains can be attributed to the fourth quarter and 2021 full year financial results. During the fourth quarter, the company reported net sales of $2.254 billion. Notably, the company reported $2.122 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 and $2.194 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Worth noting, GameStop announced it intends to launch a marketplace for non-fungible tokens by the end of the second quarter of the fiscal year 2022. The NFT marketplace is expected to be developed in partnership with Immutable X at a deal worth $150 million.
The company has announced that it will focus on the growing crypto market, thereby attracting the energetic crypto community.
Notably, the company has made notable partnerships to increase its gaming portfolio. Among them include PC gaming companies such as Alienware, Corsair and Lenovo.
As its business operations increase, the company has increased its skilled labor sector. The notable hires include those in blockchain gaming, ecommerce and technology, product refurbishment and operations.
During the financial year 2021, the company raised over $1.67 billion in the capital. Additionally, the company managed to eliminate all of its long-term debt. Nevertheless, GameStop has a $44.6 million low-interest, unsecured term loan associated with the French government’s response to COVID-19.
