Bed Bath & Beyond Stock Is Tumbling: What's Going On?

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc BBBY shares are trading lower on above-average volume Thursday following reports the company is preparing to file for bankruptcy in the coming days. 

What To Know: Multiple reports from this week suggested that Bed Bath & Beyond was once again preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as the embattled retailer continues to struggle to raise necessary funding.

Bed Bath & Beyond has reportedly been in talks with lenders and advisors ahead of the impending bankruptcy filing, which was rumored to take place before April 26. New reports from the Wall Street Journal indicate that the company is preparing to file for bankruptcy in the next few days.

Bed Bath & Beyond has announced a series of offerings as part of its search for strategic alternatives, including a public offering in early February with initial gross proceeds of $225 million and an additional $800 million in future installments, as well as a new $300 million offering at the end of March. 

Bed Bath & Beyond is due to report fourth-quarter results sometime in early May, although a date has not yet been confirmed by the company. However, it appears the retailer is now preparing for bankruptcy ahead of its estimated report date. 

Increased Volatility: Bed Bath & Beyond has an average session volume of approximately 98 million, according to Benzinga Pro. Thursday's trading volume has already exceeded 126 million less than two hours after market open. 

On Wednesday, BBBY rallied on retail speculation, trading as high as 55 cents per share before pulling back. 

The stock is still pretty heavily shorted. Short interest is currently pegged between 17.53% and 19.26%, per a combination of Benzinga Pro and Fintel data. 

Despite seeing wild price action intraday, the stock has largely trended lower over the last year, giving up more than 97% of its value. It's down more than 85% just since the start of the year. 

Bed Bath & Beyond shares were down 23.9% Thursday morning at 35 cents at the time of writing, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Tony Webster from Flickr.