The home screen of the Robinhood website on a smartphone.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Restrictions on Robinhood merchants were tightened all day on Friday, allowing customers to buy only one share of GameStop.
The stock trading app also expanded its restricted stock list from 13 earlier in the day to 50.
“The table below shows the maximum number of stocks and options contracts to which you can increase your exposure,” writes Robinhood. CNBC recreated the table.
The limited list tells clients how many shares and options contracts they can buy in relation to a particular security. Robinhood customers can purchase only one share and up to five options contracts from GameStop; However, if a customer already owns one or more shares of GameStop, they cannot buy more shares.
Robinhood’s limitations can take the wind off point-and-click traders trying to jack up GameStop’s price. However, Robinhood will not sell GameStop shares from customers who have already exceeded the one share limit of a previous position.
The stock, which closed 67%, was off the top of the session when the new tighter limits were introduced. Earlier in the day, customers were able to purchase five shares of GameStop.
Of one of the 50 shares, customers were able to buy the most shares, five. Customers without existing shares can only buy one share and 10 options contracts in AMC Entertainment, which is lower than the previous 115 shares. Shares of AMC Entertainment closed 53%, but were also well behind their highs of the day. Customers can purchase only one share of American Airlines, Bed Bath & Beyond and Koss.
The stock trading app has also expanded its list of restricted stocks. Some of the new names include Advanced Micro Devices, Starbucks, Novavax, General Motors and Beyond Meat.
On Thursday, Robinhood told clients that it was only allowed to sell stock, not buy new ones, in certain securities that received social media attention from Reddit crowds. The company also increased margin requirements, or the amount of money in a client’s account when they use leverage to buy a security. Robinhood’s decision was met with outrage, with many users taking their complaint to Twitter.
Robinhood said the trade restrictions were risk management decisions to protect Robinhood and its clearing houses, but said the restrictions would be relaxed Friday.
The free trade pioneer raised $ 1 billion in investor money and tapped more lines of credit overnight for its customers to trade names like GameStop and AMC Entertainment on Friday.
However, the restrictions tightened over the trading day as the list of limited securities grew and the number of shares customers could buy for certain stocks shrank.
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