Retail investors chatted all week about the GameStop shares with hedge fund short sellers, and one Florida man expressed his support for the guy by waving a “BUY GAMESTOCK STOCK” banner over Miami.
The banner also had ‘WSB’, which stands for the popular WallStreetBets Reddit forum, where day traders regularly discuss the short print.
The popular meme account, “Litquidity”, posted a video of the banner. Forex Analytix founder Blake Morrow also posted a picture of the banner.
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GameStop’s share has risen more than 1,700% so far as day traders poured money into the brick-and-mortar industry, blowing up hedge fund sellers along the way.
Robinhood, a trading platform used by many retail investors, temporarily halted the purchase of GameStop shares and other securities targeted by the WallStreetBets crowd on Thursday.
With the platform, users were able to buy GameStop shares on a limited basis on Friday.
Short sellers lost $ 70 billion this year against U.S. companies, including $ 19 billion on GameStop shares alone, according to financial data service Ortex.
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Robinhood’s restrictions on the purchase of GameStop shares on Thursday led to protests outside the company’s headquarters, as well as protests at the headquarters of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Stock Exchange.
Photos taken by a New York Times reporter show people holding signs outside Robinhood’s headquarters in California saying “FREE GME” and “ROBINHOOD SONG.”
Robinhood co-founder Vladimir Tenev said on Thursday that the platform was forced to discontinue trading in GameStop and other securities due to financial requirements, including SEC net capital commitments and deposits in the clearinghouse.
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The SEC, meanwhile, said on Friday that it would “investigate actions taken by regulated entities that could harm investors or otherwise impair their ability to trade certain securities.”
“We will act to protect retail investors when facts show offensive or manipulative trading activities prohibited by federal security laws,” the SEC said in a statement. “Market participants must be careful to avoid such activities. Issuers must also ensure compliance with federal security laws for any intended offers or sales of their own securities.”
FOX Business, James Leggate and Lucas Manfredi contributed to this report.