Meme-Stock Resurgence Piles Up the Losses for Short-Sellers

Bailey Lipschultz, Bloomberg News

Shopping carts outside a Bed Bath & Beyond store in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is scheduled to release earnings figures on January 7. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Investors betting against the most well-known meme stocks have lost about $1.65 billion this month after the shares soared in value, prompting a short squeeze.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.’s 47% rally has pushed mark-to-market losses for short-sellers to $653 million, S3 Partners data show. Similar bets against Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and GameStop Corp., which have surged 359% and 19%, respectively, in August, lost $1 billion combined.

AMC Entertainment and GameStop have peeled off roughly five-month highs recently, while Bed Bath & Beyond powered higher for a sixth session on Wednesday.

The three stocks are likely to remain targets for short squeezes as stock price rallies attract new short sellers, Ihor Dusaniwsky, S3 Partners’ managing director of predictive analytics, said by email. Bed Bath & Beyond has “officially” joined GameStop and AMC Entertainment “in the short squeeze major leagues.”

Bearish bets against Bed Bath & Beyond have soared to 55% of shares available for trading, according to S3 data. That compares to 23% of GameStop shares and just under one-fifth for AMC Entertainment.

(Updates figures throughout for market close.)