GameStop (GME) CEO Ryan Cohen Buys $10 Million of Company Stock

GameStop (GME) CEO Ryan Cohen continues to load up on shares of the company he runs. Regulatory filings show that Cohen bought 450,000 shares of GME stock for $10.6 million on Sept. 29, bringing his total holdings to just over 40.9 million shares, a stake worth $998.36 million or 8% of the video game retailer.

The purchase on Sept. 29 was Cohen’s third major buy of GME stock in less than a month. The CEO acquired $20.4 million worth of shares on Sept. 10 and an additional $26.3 million of company stock on Sept. 21. Other members of senior management have also been buying GameStop’s stock. On Oct. 1, Nat Turner, who sits on the company’s board of directors, bought 10,462 shares for $24.33 apiece, bringing the value of his purchase to $252,238.

GameStop’s key performance indicators. Source: TipRanks

Alignment with Stockholders

Why Cohen has been loading up on GME stock isn’t clear. However, earlier this year, he said that it is important for chief executive officer’s of public companies to buy stock with their personal funds “in order to further strengthen alignment with stockholders.” Many other CEOs purchase company stock for the same reasons, including Greg Abel, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B).

Cohen’s September stock purchases comes with GME’s share price down 10% in the last 12 months, and down 44% over the past five years. In his three years at the helm of GameStop, Cohen has driven aggressive cost-cutting and turnaround efforts to improve the company’s financial results. Among his most unconventional moves was adding Bitcoin (BTC) to GameStop’s treasury reserves.

GameStop’s Failed eBay Acquisition

Cohen’s latest stock buys also come after he failed earlier this year to acquire e-commerce company eBay (EBAY). Management at eBay rejected a $56 billion takeover offer from GameStop. In rejecting the acquisition, eBay expressed doubts over the financing of the deal. Cohen had considered launching a hostile takeover battle for eBay but ultimately chose not to go that route.

Analysts had also doubted whether the half-cash, half-stock bid from GameStop, which has a market capitalization of $10 billion, would be enough for eBay, whose market value is four times greater. The GameStop offer drew public criticism from many investors, including Michael Burry of “The Big Short” fame. Burry sold all his shares in GameStop immediately after the eBay bid was announced.

GME Stock Moves

Below is a chart from TipRanks showing the three-month performance of GME stock. As one can see, the share price has risen 5.65% in the last 12 weeks.