Photo courtesy of Discovery Channel via Wikimedia
Shares of media company Discovery Inc. (DISCA) closed at an all-time high on Monday and have more than doubled since January this year, likely benefiting from the short squeeze on heavily-shorted stocks such as GameStop Corp. (GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC) earlier this year.
What Happened: Discovery’s shares have gained 123% on a year-to-date basis. The stock’s initial gains came after the company launched the Discovery+ streaming service on January 4 this year.
While reporting its financial results for the fourth quarter in late February, Discovery said it has surpassed 11 million total paying direct-to-consumer subscribers globally.
However, much of the stock’s surge came following the GameStop Corp. saga in late January, when a short squeeze fueled by users of Reddit investor forum r/WallStreetBets sent the shares of GameStop, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., and several other companies soaring.
Discovery now has a market capitalization of more than $29 billion. The company owns cable networks such as Food Network, TLC, OWN, HGTV, and its flagship Discovery Channel.
Why It Matters: According to a report by CNBC — quoting data by research firm FactSet, Discovery is among the ten most-shorted companies among U.S. listed securities.
However, Discovery’s stock does not seem to have been a target of the short squeeze, as per the report. Rather, the stock may have benefited as short-sellers unwound their positions to avoid being squeezed in case Discovery became a target of retail investors.
Price Movement: Discovery shares closed almost 4.7% higher on Monday at $67.25.
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