Here's a game many people would like to play: How to make a billion bucks in a month. And nine investors just pulled it off with GameStop stock.
Nine investors, including large fund-running institutions like Fidelity's FMR and BlackRock plus some well-positioned individuals like Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen watched the value of their GameStop holdings soar more than $1 billion apiece just this year.
That's based on an Investor's Business Daily analysis of the most current holdings reported to S&P Global Market Intelligence. It's possible some of these investors may have boosted or cut their stakes since the rally.
All told, these nine investors made a total of roughly $16 billion on their GameStop stakes, just in January. That means they grabbed roughly three-quarters of the $20.4 billion gain in the company's market value this year. GameStop is now worth $22.7 billion, up from just $1.3 billion a month ago.
The rally in GameStop is breathtaking. Shares of the struggling mall-based video game seller are up more than 1,600% — just this year. GameStop, by far, is the top-performing stock in the S&P 1500 index this month. And GameStop is now the most valuable stock in the S&P SmallCap 600 index. It's more three-times more valuable than the index' No. 2: $7.3 billion Cleveland-Cliffs. And if in the benchmark S&P 500, GameStop would rank 257 in terms of market value, ahead of Nasdaq and Campbell Soup.
The stock is rallying as individual investors pour into the stock. Big investors heavily shorting the stock are now forced to buy it to close out their positions.
Who's winning on the trade?
Big Index Funds Big Holders Of GameStop GME Stock
GameStop's financial future isn't all that bright. It's rated "underperform" by analysts following the stock on average. But it's still a member of the S&P Small Cap 600 index and Russell 2000. As a result, large index small-cap funds and ETFs are forced to own it. That's looking smart now.
Fidelity FMR is the top holder of GameStop shares. It owns 9.5 million shares, through September, or nearly 14% of shares outstanding. Adding that up and Fidelity hauled in a nearly $3 billion gain just this year for its investors.
Similarly, BlackRock scored $2.6 billion and Vanguard $1.6 billion, as they own 12.3% and 7.6% of GameStop, respectively.
Well-Positioned Individuals
Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen keeps finding himself in the right place at the right time.
He's now the single-largest individual owner of GameStop shares after a Jan. 10, 2021 transaction. Cohen actually started buying shares last August. He wrote to the company's board with ideas on ways to boost its e-commerce offerings. GameStop's board offered him a seat, which he accepted.
Cohen now owns 9 million shares, or nearly 13% of shares outstanding. That translates into a practically overnight gain of $2.8 billion this year. Cohen is also on the boards of Chewy and PetSmart. Chewy is an online pet food seller that went public in June 2019. Chewy stock is up nearly 200% since then.
But right now, it's the GameStop position that matters most.
Largest GameStop Investors
All are up a $1 billion or more this year based on most recently disclosed positions.
| Holder | Common Shares Held (Millions) | % Of Company's Shares Outstanding Owned | Gain ($ Billions)* | Position Date Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FMR (Fidelity Investments) | 9.5 | 13.7% | $2.9 | Sep-30-2020 |
| Ryan Cohen | 9.0 | 12.9 | 2.8 | Jan-10-2021 |
| BlackRock | 8.6 | 12.3 | 2.6 | Sep-30-2020 |
| Vanguard Group | 5.3 | 7.6 | 1.6 | Sep-30-2020 |
| Susquehanna International Group | 4.4 | 6.3 | 1.3 | Sep-30-2020 |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors | 3.9 | 5.7 | 1.2 | Sep-30-2020 |
| Senvest Management | 3.6 | 5.2 | 1.1 | Oct-07-2020 |
| Donald A. Foss | 3.5 | 5.0 | 1.1 | Feb-28-2020 |
| MUST Asset Management | 3.3 | 4.7 | 1.0 | Mar-18-2020 |
