GameStop Short-Selling Fame's Melvin Posts 20% Returns For February: Report

Gabe Plotkin’s Melvin Capital Management LP saw gains of more than 20% in February after being brutalized by a retail investor-led short squeeze a month earlier, CNBC reported Wednesday.

What Happened: Melvin fell as much as 53% in January in a short squeeze fueled by users of Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets, which sent the shares of GameStop Corp GME, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC, BlackBerry Ltd BB, and others soaring. 

The fund returned 27.1% in February recouping some of the earlier losses, according to CNBC.

Why It Matters: Hedge funds Citadel and Point72 infused $2.75 billion in Melvin in late January. The investment was in Melvin’s fund and non-controlling revenue shares, as per the Wall Street Journal. 

Melvin subsequently covered its short position in GameStop in January after confirming it had taken a huge hit as did Citron Research. 

See Also: Citron Research No Longer Publishing Short Reports, Switches Focus To Multibaggers

In a statement ahead of the House hearing called to look into the GameStop saga, Plotkin denied that Melvin was bailed out by Citadel. 

“To be sure, Melvin was managing through a difficult time, but we always had margin excess and we were not seeking a cash infusion,” wrote Plotkin.

Price Action: GameStop shares closed nearly 5.08% at $124.18 on Wednesday and gained 0.66% in the after-hours session.

For news coverage in Italian or Spanish, check out Benzinga Italia and Benzinga España.