Benzinga - One of the most notable activist investors of the last decade is the subject of a new television documentary exploring meme stocks and the role he played in several publicly traded companies.
Here’s a look at the details of the new Ryan Cohen documentary and how to watch it.
What Happened: Known best as the chairman of GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) and the founder of Chewy Inc (NYSE: CHWY), Cohen became a leader for a section of retail investors with many copying his trades and investments.
CNBC, a unit of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA), is set to air a new documentary called, “Making Of The Meme King.” The documentary will air on CNBC on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at 10 p.m. ET.
The documentary will explore the creation of Chewy, the investments in GameStop and Bed Bath & Beyond. “Making Of The Meme King” will also take a look at what’s next for Cohen and investors.
“Building Chewy into an e-commerce giant made Ryan Cohen a hot commodity on Wall Street, but jumping into the online frenzy around GameStop and Bed Bath & Beyond transformed him into an icon for a generation of individual investors hell-bent on turning American finance upside-down,” CNBC said of the documentary.
The one-hour documentary will include interviews with several people close to Cohen for the first time, along with interviews from retail investors on Reddit, board members of companies related to Cohen and employees at companies Cohen invested in.
Journalists, including CNBC’s Melissa Lee, and research analysts will also be featured in the documentary.
The section on Bed Bath & Beyond could be of significance as experts have criticized the manner of Cohen’s short investment and subsequent sale that came as retail investors were left with large losses in many cases, while Cohen made huge profits.
“Through interviews with members of social media communities, securities experts and professors, CNBC examines questions and criticisms that arose after Cohen quickly sold his entire stake in the company.”
Related Link: GameStop Short Squeeze Anniversary: A Look Back At David Vs. Goliath Battle And What's Next
Why It’s Important: Cohen gained a strong following of fans and investors thanks to the turnaround seen by GameStop shares several years ago.
Given the nicknames of “Papa Cohen” and “Meme Stock King,” Cohen has more than 370,000 followers on Twitter who often try to decipher his clues and memes shared on the social media network.
Along with stories of past successful investments and ventures for Cohen, “Making Of The Meme King” also looks at newer investments by Cohen including Nordstrom Inc (NYSE: JWN) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - ADR (NYSE: BABA).
Cohen also teased about being in contact with a company that was “once a great American brand.” The documentary could offer clues on what company this is that got Cohen’s attention.
Activist investing is nothing new to public companies, but Cohen is seen as a new type that rallies retail investors and utilizes social media.
The story of GameStop became a battle of David vs. Goliath sorts with retail investors battling against hedge funds and short sellers. Cohen remains a central figure of the GameStop stock story that has been told previously with several docuseries across media companies.
“Dumb Money,” a movie based on a Ben Mezrich book of the same name is set to be released in theaters on Oct. 20, 2023. The story will tell the story of the rise of GameStop shares and the parties that were involved.
Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan, Pete Davidson, Shailene Woodley and Nick Offerman star in the movie for Sony Group Corp (NYSE: SONY). It is not known if Cohen will be a character in the movie and who will play him if he is featured.
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Photo: Bill Jerome via Flickr Creative Commons
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