The skyrocketing price of GameStop stock has forced Citron Research to rethink its entire investment strategy, according to a new announcement from the company. As of today, the iconic Wall Street analytics business will no longer be publishing its regular report on short selling trends.
"After twenty years, we noticed something. While we started Citron to be against the establishment, we actually became the establishment," said Andrew Left, Citron Research's head. "As of today, Citron Research will no longer be publishing what could be considered as short selling reports. The Citron narrative is going to change and have a pivot."
The news comes on the wave of renewed gains for GameStop, surging back over the $300 per share threshold after dipping to a low of $132 yesterday. Short sellers have been on the wrong side of trading, losing billions of dollars as retail investors pounced on the stock earlier this week and never looked back.
Interest in the GameStop situation isn't likely to fade any time soon, as the US Government is now looking into transactions. Yesterday, several brokers froze trading on the company, and are now the target of a class-action lawsuit. When the stock eventually settles down, that will only mark the beginning of a long debate on how our market is being run and whether it requires stricter regulations.
In a since-deleted tweet, Left made his feelings very clear – calling the new GameStop investors an "angry mob" and that he would be reporting their "multiple crimes" to the authorities. Instead, it seems he's going to avoid another fiasco for Citron's clients by steering clear of short selling. However, it's not apparent whether the company itself will stop shorting positions, or if it simply won't be making any recommendations to other investors.
Beyond GameStop, several other company's have seen similar stock price increases – including Blockbuster, AMC, and Blackberry. Some of these have since died down, although many of them are still seeing prices soar – with no end in sight.