American Airlines Group Inc. surged in early trading Thursday, extending a day-earlier gain as the carrier was swept up in a rally among heavily shorted stocks being targeted in Reddit’s Wall Street Bets forum.

The shares soared as much as 87 per cent ahead of regular trading. The spectacular advance came as American reported fourth-quarter earnings and ventured a cautious outlook on when a recovery would materialize after an unprecedented drop in air travel last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“As we look to the year ahead, 2021 will be a year of recovery,” Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker said in an earnings statement. “While we don’t know exactly when passenger demand will return, as vaccine distribution takes hold and travel restrictions are lifted, we will be ready.”

The surge underscored the disconnect between retail traders’ attacks on shorted stocks and the reality of an industry where demand cratered because of the pandemic. Like its U.S. peers, American is still reeling from losses, and its narrower-than-expected deficit in the fourth quarter suggested nothing to justify a burst of market enthusiasm. American is the most shorted stock among major U.S. airlines.

“AAL the next GME?” said Reddit user u/cardiffgiantthe1st in an online discussion Wednesday, referring to the stock tickers of American and GameStop Corp., the video-game retailer that has been at the center of intense trading stoked by online discussions.

American had a market value of US$10 billion at the close on Wednesday.