Why Is Bed Bath & Beyond Stock Tanking After Hours?

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc BBBY shares fell sharply into the close and are continuing to trade lower in Wednesday's after-hours session after GameStop Corp GME chairman Ryan Cohen filed a Form 144 with the SEC showing intent to sell his stake in the struggling retailer. 

According to the new SEC filing, JPMorgan has filed an intent to sell 9,450,100 million shares, representing Cohen's total stake, on behalf of Cohen's firm RC Ventures. Some of said shares are represented by long-dated call options.

The filing represents the potential sale of up to 7.78 million common shares, as well as 1,257 $60 strike call options, 444 $75 strike calls and 5,000 $80 strike calls. All of the call options are set to expire on Jan. 20, 2023. 

The date of notice for the filing is marked Aug. 16. It's not clear if any shares have been sold on behalf of RC Ventures to date.

Cohen purchased a stake in Bed Bath & Beyond in March, which sparked increased interest from the retail crowd. On Tuesday, traders circled a recent filing from Cohen showing that he was still holding out-of-the-money call options. The stock appears to be selling off with Cohen's stake now in question. 

See Also: Jim Cramer Bashes Bed Bath & Beyond: How He Says Retailer Could 'Save Themselves,' But Would 'Rather Sink The Ship'

BBBY Price Action: Bed Bath & Beyond shares have surged from below $5 to nearly $30 since the beginning of the month.

The stock was down 16.4% in after hours at $19.29 at press time, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Mike Mozart from Flickr.