Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) are down 42% on news that activist investor Ryan Cohen
has sold his entire stake in the retailer.
According to a securities filing Cohen’s company RC Ventures dumped all the stock it owned in
Bed Bath & Beyond at prices ranging between $18.68 U.S. and $29.22 U.S. per share. Cohen’s
firm also sold its call options in Bed, Bath & Beyond stock.
The after hours decline of 42% adds to a loss of nearly 20% in yesterday’s trading session
(August 18).
Cohen, who is the chairman of meme stock GameStop (GME), purchased more than seven
million shares and call options on Bed Bath & Beyond stock earlier this year.
Bed, Bath & Beyond subsequently added board members of Cohen’s choosing and pushed out
the company’s former chief executive officer (CEO).
Cohen originally purchased his shares of Bed Bath & Beyond at an average price of $15.34
U.S. per share. He therefore made nearly $60 million, before brokerage fees, on his sale this
week of Bed Bath & Beyond common stock.
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond rocketed higher in recent days due, in large part, to news that
Cohen had taken out call options on the stock with strike prices between $60 and $80,
indicating he expected the share price to rise in coming months.
Shares were up more than 200% in August before they plummeted over the past two days. Bed
Bath & Beyond stock has seen high trading volume this month and become the dominant topic
of conversation on Reddit’s WallStreetBets chat forum.
Cohen’s stake in Bed, Bath & Beyond was curious given that the retailer is struggling financially.
In June, the company reported that its first-quarter net sales were down 25% from a year ago,
resulting in a net loss of $358 million U.S.
Some analysts and retail investors on WallStreetBets have accused Cohen of executing a
pump-and-dump scheme on Bed, Bath & Beyond’s stock.
Before today’s downturn, Bed, Bath & Beyond’s stock was up 22% this year and trading at
$18.55 U.S. per share.
