A GameStop store will be pictured in New York on January 29, 2021.
Carlo Allegri | Reuters
Shares of GameStop were up more than 100% on Wednesday as investors poured into the brick-and-mortar store amid a C-suite shake-up.
The shares were discontinued with less than 30 minutes left on the trading day and the stock ended the day at 103.9%.
GameStop announced Tuesday that Chief Financial Officer Jim Bell will step down on March 26.
“The resignation of Mr. Bell was not because of a disagreement with the company on any matter relating to the company’s business, policies or practices, including accounting principles and practices,” the company said in a filing with the Securities. and Exchange Commission.
Sources familiar with the matter told Business Insider that Bell did not voluntarily leave, but was turned away by Ryan Cohen, co-founder of Chewy, who made an investment in GameStop last year in an effort to help the company accelerate its online push.
Bloomberg News reported Tuesday night that the GameStop board has pushed Bell out to speed its turnaround, according to sources familiar with the case.
Cohen’s appointment to the GameStop board helped propel the heavily shorted stock upward in January, resulting in the epic brief press in GameStop that sparked retail trade mania and eventually congressional attention.
“We recognize that leadership changes often follow activists’ settlements and that Mr. Bell’s departure was mutual and non-immediate, and suggests there are no disagreements with the company / board of directors,” Jefferies told stock analyst Stephanie Wissink to customers. “We believe Mr. Bell deserves recognition for a series of actions that protected GME equity during the late stages of the final hardware cycle, when sales plunged.”
Jefferies added that GameStop will likely be looking for a CFO replacement with a technical background, compared to retail.
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