At 11:11 a.m. ET on Tuesday, shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) are up 20%, while the S&P 500 is up 41 points, or slightly over 1%.
Following a report in The Wall Street Journal this morning stating that Bed Bath & Beyond, along with other struggling retailers, had acquired finance in recent weeks to make it through the holiday season, the stock of the home goods company has increased.
While sales during the Christmas shopping season are predicted to increase by 4% to 6% from the previous year, inflation is wreaking havoc on household budgets. Even Amazon’s recent Prime Early Access Sale, which served as the second Prime Day sale, was a rather understated occasion in comparison to the summer extravaganza. Only low-priced items, according to several merchants, were moving, and sales were only 15% higher than usual, non-sale-event Tuesday and Wednesday.
Although Tuesday Morning and Bed Bath & Beyond were “among those most at risk of running out of cash without stellar holiday sales,” the Journal piece wasn’t all that favorable for Bed Bath & Beyond.
Them did mention that Bed Bath & Beyond had raised its credit limit last month, giving it access to almost $1 billion in available liquidity.
One of the most widely shorted stocks on the market, about 40% of Bed Bath & Beyond’s stock is still traded short, which increases the risk that short-sellers will close out their holdings in response to any favorable movement. The decision is not directly tied to a short squeeze, but the home goods store only needs a few more positive news stories for one to emerge soon.
Original article posted here.
