Shares of BlackBerry Limited BB 10.01%rose about 10% in the regular trading session on Wednesday and jumped another 6.7% in the extended trading session.
What Happened: BlackBerry shares spiked as the latest meme stock rally expanded beyondAMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.AMC 19.09%andGameStop Corp.GME 15.7%on Wednesday.
The Canada-based company’s shares hit a high of $28.77 in late January this year amid the short squeeze, but have tanked since then. The stock’s year-to-date gains stand at 29.6%.
BlackBerry, once known for being the world's largest smartphone manufacturer, is now exclusively a software provider with a stated goal of end-to-end secure communication for enterprises.
Why It Matters: The “meme” stocks that were the focus of retail investors on Reddit earlier this year are riding another wave higher as the ‘Reddit army' continues to band together in an attempt to squeeze the stocks higher. BlackBerry has also been a favorite stock of the investors on Reddit's r/WallStreetBets forum.
According to data from analytics firm Ortex, short sellers lost$618 millionfollowing the rally in meme stocks GameStop and AMC Entertainment on Tuesday. Short sellers are those betting for declines in the company’s shares.
Price Action: BlackBerry shares closed 9.9% higher in Wednesday’s regular trading session at $9.44 and further rose almost 6.7% in the after-hours session to $10.07.