Investor from Reddit uses GameStop earnings to buy Nintendo Switch for children’s hospital

This photo illustration shows the logos of GameStop and trading application Robinhood in a computer and on a mobile phone in Arlington, Virginia on Jan. 28, 2021. An epic battle is unfolding on Wall Street, with a cast of characters clashing over the fate of GameStop, a struggling chain of video game retail stores. Image: AFP/Olivier Douliery

An anonymous GameStop investor has decided to share his earnings by doing some good for a children’s hospital in Texas.

The investor sent 10 Nintendo Switch consoles to Medical City Children’s Hospital, he told NBC 5 on Friday, Jan. 29. The consoles were purchased from GameStop branches in Texas.

He said that he made “a good amount through r/WallStreetBets on this hilarious GME trade.”

The investor was among the amateur traders on Reddit who decided to drive up the shares of video game retailer GameStop.

Traders on r/WallStreetBets actively seek out struggling companies, such as GameStop (GME), Macy’s (M) and BlackBerry (BB) not only to make a profit, but also to fight Wall Street investors shorting these companies. By short-selling, professional investors are betting that shares of these companies will eventually crash.

However, when the Reddit group decided to invest in GameStop, shares jumped to such high prices that have cost Wall Street investors billions of dollars. To compare, a year ago, one GameStop share cost about $3; it is currently over $300 as of writing, which is a spike of over 1000%.

It is unclear how this trading frenzy will end. For now, the anonymous investor hopes fellow Redditors will use their GameStop profits by giving back. Niña V. Guno/JB

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