Markets
GameStop store entrance at Rego Center shopping mall, Queens, New York
(Photo by Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Stonks

The return of GameStop stock mania was weeks in the making

Options traders were making wild bets on GME much earlier in May

Luke Kawa, Jack Raines

The return of the meme stock mania that’s seen shares of GameStop rise as much as 270% over the past two days was shaped by bullish bets that were weeks in the making. And if those wagers were ever going to pay off, the surge needed to happen by this specific time.

With hindsight, trading volumes in the stock were picking up for no good reason well ahead of this week. These higher volumes were accompanied by some eyebrow-raising behavior in the options market.

“Something has been percolating”

Daily trading volume ranged from 2.1 million to 7.7 million over the last three months, besides a few days in late March where it briefly jumped to 17 million shares. But then things started changing: on May 3, volume spiked to 36.3 million shares, and between 24 million and 48 million shares changed hands each day until May 13, when volume spiked to 182 million. Speculators were accumulating shares in the week leading up to Roaring Kitty's tweet.

“Frankly, I’ve been trading this for the past two weeks in both directions because something has been percolating,” said Tom Hearden, senior trader at Skylands Capital.


Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, flagged a noteworthy dynamic at play in options markets ahead of this week’s rally in GameStop: bullish bets on where the stock would be by May 17, the end of this week, were skewed towards lotto-ticket, moonshot outcomes. 

That is, people were buying more options that would be in-the-money if GameStop shares rose more than 150%, compared to those that would be in the money if the stock only rose 35%. Prior to this week, the only times GameStop had rallied more than 100% over a 10-day period was the meme stock frenzy in Q1 2021 and the much fainter echo that followed one year later.

Typically, you would expect interest in upside targets that would be easier to reach to become more in demand during the stock’s gradual rise, Sosnick said.

“This has been building for some time, someone got long big slugs of the $25 and $30 calls,” said Sosnick. “The fact that we saw the open interest creeping higher and steadily increased in the 30s faster than in the 20s, was odd, and a signal that something was up.”

Those call options, barring a repeat of the Q1 2021 and 2022 episodes, would have expired completely worthless. As of Friday, the ability to buy shares of GameStop by May 17 at a price of $30 was worth $0.43. Now, those options are worth over $20.

Compare those trends in open interest to a much larger, heavily-traded stock like Apple. Coming into the week, there was more than five times as much open interest in options that would be in the money in the event of a 4% increase in the iPhone maker compared to options with a strike price about 15% above the market close on May 17.

More Markets

See all Markets
markets

GitLab shares soar on earnings and revenue beat

Shares of GitLab soared over 8% in after-hours trading after the company’s quarterly results beat analyst expectations for earnings and revenue.

For FY2027 Q1, the code development and security platform posted:

  • Revenues of $264.2 million (estimate: $254 million).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.23 (estimate: $0.21).

In a press release, GitLab CEO Bill Staples wrote, “The agentic era is creating structural tailwinds for GitLab, and Q1 showed it clearly with accelerating platform activity and promising traction from GitLab Duo Agent Platform.”

As AI eats the software development world, platforms for human coders like GitLab are facing some existential threats. Last month, GitLab shares dropped after it announced a restructuring plan, slashing its country footprint by 30%, and today it confirmed that 350 team members would be cut. The company said it expects the restructing to be complete by the end of FY 2027.

Shares of GitLab were down about 15% year to date heading into the report.

markets

Nuclear stocks gain as federal officials approve plan to restart Three Mile Island

US officials have given Constellation Energy the green light to turn the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant back on.

On Monday night, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission filed a waiver allowing the company to transfer grid rights from a gas-fired power plant outside Philadelphia to Three Mile Island. The company says that due to the waiver, it aims to restart the nuclear power facility by 2027 in order to supply Microsoft data centers with energy.

Additionally, other nuclear stocks like Oklo, GE Vernova, Energy Fuels, and Cameco Corp. traded higher Tuesday afternoon.

This comes after last weeks Energy Department announcement that it would provide weapons-grade plutonium to five energy startups, including Oklo, to be processed into fuel to generate electricity.

Companies have said these weapons stockpiles are a way to get nuclear reactors fueled quickly as the industry scales.

markets

Victoria’s Secret jumps after posting surging sales and raising full-year outlook

Victoria’s Secret shares are up more than 40% in early trading after the apparel retailer delivered a strong Q1 earnings beat and substantially lifted its full-year guidance. It was a welcome win for the company as it officially changed its stock ticker symbol to VSXY from VSCO on the New York Stock Exchange.

Key numbers:

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.60 (compared to analyst estimates of $0.30).

  • Net sales of $1.56 billion, a 15% year-over-year increase (estimate: $1.52 billion).

  • Adjusted operating income of $80 million (estimate: $42 million).

Comparable sales rose 13% during the quarter, beating the estimated 12%. The company said double-digit growth was recorded across its Victoria’s Secret, PINK, and Beauty brands, as well as across stores and direct and international channels.

Buoyed by the strong momentum, management raised the retailer’s full-year guidance. Victoria’s Secret now projects full-year net sales to reach between $7.03 billion and $7.13 billion, up from a previous cap of $6.95 billion. Adjusted operating income is now anticipated to land between $550 million and $580 million, a jump from the previously projected range of $430 million to $460 million.

“Our customer responded strongly to our product innovation, emotionally resonant storytelling, and distinct brand projection, driving double-digit growth in new customer acquisition, increased regular-price selling, and broad-based strength across categories, channels, and geographies,” CEO Hillary Super said in a statement. “These results reflect the progress we are making against our Path to Potential strategy as we continue to strengthen customer connection, build brand heat, and drive sustainable long-term growth.”

The company’s “Path to Potential” transformation strategy was launched to right-track the business after a multiyear stretch of declining sales and cultural scrutiny. The changed ticker also signals a fresh corporate chapter under Super, who is steering the retailer through a major brand turnaround.

markets

Dollar General posts Q1 EPS beat and boosts guidance, though revenue misses slightly

Dollar General reported mixed first-quarter results, pairing an earnings beat and a boosted full-year profit forecast with a slight revenue miss.

Key numbers:

  • EPS of $2 (compared to analyst estimates of $1.90).

  • Revenue of $10.79 billion (estimate: $10.83 billion).

  • Same-store sales growth of 2% year over year.

Shares of the company fell 2.1% in early trading, reversing the gains they had made premarket.

Buoyed by the bottom-line strength, Dollar General also raised its fiscal 2026 profit outlook, now forecasting full-year earnings per share to land between $7.20 and $7.45, up from its previous guidance of $7.10 to $7.35. Meanwhile, management reiterated its full-year same-store sales growth target of 2.2% to 2.7%.

Management noted that the retailer’s increase in profit was boosted by contributions from new stores and growth in same-store sales, partially offset by the impact of store closures.

Heightened economic uncertainty, ongoing US import tariffs, and rising gas prices tied to the Iran war could also be weighing on everyday households’ purchasing decisions, causing them to pull back on spending in general or trade down to more affordable basic essentials.

“Our topline results were highlighted by positive customer traffic and balanced category growth,” Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO, said in the press release. “Looking ahead, we believe the essential nature of our offering and our expansive footprint position us well to navigate the current macroeconomic environment.”

Shares of Dollar General are down more than 20% year to date.

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC and Chartr Limited produce fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and are fully owned subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, Robinhood Money, LLC, Robinhood U.K. Ltd, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, Robinhood Gold, LLC, Robinhood Asset Management, LLC, Robinhood Credit, Inc., Robinhood Ventures DE, LLC and, where applicable, its managed investment vehicles.