GameStop shares soar more than 90% in late afternoon trades

Shares of GameStop rose more than 100% on Wednesday as investors poured into the brick-and-mortar retailer amid a C-suite shake-up.

The shares stopped less than 30 minutes before the trading day and the shares ended the day at 103.9%.

GameStop announced Tuesday that its chief financial officer Jim Bell will resign on March 26th.

“Mr. Bell’s resignation was not due to any disagreement with the company on any matter related to the company’s operations, policies or practices, including accounting principles and practices,” the company said in a filing with the Board of Directors. Stocks and Stock Exchanges.

Sources familiar with the matter told Business Insider that Bell did not leave willingly, but was fired by Ryan Cohen, co-founder of Chewy, who made an investment in GameStop last year in an effort to help the company to accelerate its online momentum.

Bloomberg News reported Tuesday evening that the GameStop board pushed Bell to execute its change more quickly, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Cohen’s appointment to GameStop’s board helped drive the stock sharply short in January, prompting an epic short cut by GameStop that sparked retail mania and eventually congressional attention.

“We recognize that leadership changes often follow activist settlements and Mr. Bell’s departure was mutual, not immediate, and does not suggest any disagreement with the company / board,” equity analyst Jefferies Stephanie told clients Wissink. “We believe Mr. Bell deserves recognition for a number of actions that protected GME equity during the later stages of the last hardware cycle, when sales fell sharply.”

Jefferies added that GameStop will likely look for a replacement for CFO with technology compared to detail, as GameStop is focusing on e-commerce growth.

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