Investor Ryan Cohen has confirmed that he sold his entire stake in retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. with profit of more than $58 million, and shares plummeted in after-hours trading for a second consecutive day Thursday.
A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that was made public after markets closed Thursday showed that Cohen sold his entire Bed Bath & Beyond
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stake in the regular trading sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. An SEC filing made public Wednesday afternoon showed that Cohen’s RC Ventures planned to sell its stake, which it accrued in the first quarter amid an activist campaign from Cohen.
Bed Bath & Beyond shares fell 19.6% in regular trading Thursday, then plunged more than 20% in after-hours trading.
According to Thursday’s filing, Cohen sold 7.78 million shares at weighted average prices ranging from $18.68 to $29.22, after buying them in the first quarter of the year at weighted average prices prices ranging from $13.08 to $17.25. The sales of the shares netted him $58.65 million, according to calculations by Dow Jones Market Data Group.
Cohen also dumped call options he owned in Bed Bath & Beyond, taking a profit of nearly $95,000 on those trades, according to Dow Jones Market Data Group.
Cohen is known for founding online pet shop Chewy Inc.
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and became a favorite of investors on Reddit after jumping into struggling retailer GameStop Inc.
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where he now serves as chairman. When he jumped into Bed Bath & Beyond stock earlier this year, he sent the company’s board a letter seeking specific changes to its turnaround plan, including a narrower focus and a potential spinoff.
In its own SEC filing Thursday morning, Bed Bath & Beyond offered a statement related to media inquiries about Cohen’s filing that said: “We were pleased to have reached a constructive agreement with RC Ventures in March and are committed to maximizing value for all shareholders.”
“We are continuing to execute on our priorities to enhance liquidity, make strategic changes and improve operations to win back customers, and drive cost efficiencies; all to restore our company to its heritage as the best destination for the home, for all stakeholders,” the statement said. “Specifically, we have been working expeditiously over the past several weeks with external financial advisors and lenders on strengthening our balance sheet, and the company will provide more information in an update at the end of this month.”
Bed Bath & Beyond has no future presentations listed on its investor-relations page. The company last reported quarterly earnings in late June, when it announced a new chief executive and wider-then-expected losses.
Despite the retail chain’s struggles, Bed Bath & Beyond’s stock heated up in recent weeks. It more than tripled in August through Thursday’s close, increasing 268.8%; it’s up 27% year to date, compared to the S&P 500’s
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10% decline.