Copied from BZ Newswire
Richard Mashaal and Brian Gonic’s hedgefund Senvest Management LLC made $700 million in the WallStreetBets-fueled rally in GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME), the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
What Happened: The two started buying the shares of the video game retailed in September and rode the GameStop rocket as the share shot up from less than $10 to above $400, the Journal reported.
“When it started its march, we thought, something’s percolating here,” said Mashaal — adding, “But we had no idea how crazy this thing was going to get.”
Senvest reportedly became curious about GameStop after viewing a presentation from the new GameStop CEO at a consumer investment conference in January 2020.
The hedge fund firm spoke with the management and noted activity around the company including the involvement of Chewy Inc (NYSE:CHWY) co-founder Ryan Cohen.
“It is not just little people on the long side here. There are huge players playing both sides of GameStop,” said Thomas Peterffy, chairman of Interactive Brokers Group Inc, the Journal reported.
Why It Matters: GameStop has reportedly turned out to be the hedge fund’s most profitable investment in terms of dollars earned and its internal rate of return.
Senvest’s flagship fund’s worth has run up from $1.6 billion at end of 2020 to $2.4 billion. In January, the fund returned 38.4% after fees, the Journal noted.
Hedge fund firm Mudrick Capital Management LP made $200 million on another Reddit investor favorite AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC).
Melvin Capital, the hedge fund at the center of the GameStop saga lost 53% in January by betting against the retailer.
The recent plunge in Reddit hot stocks has hurt members of WallStreetBets with Keith Patrick Gill, better known as Deep F---ing Value and Roaring Kitty, losing more than $13.6 million on his GameStop investment on Tuesday.
Price Action: On Wednesday, GameStop shares fell 3.82% in the after-hours session to $88.88 after closing 2.68% higher at $92.41 in the regular session.
