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GameStop Is Rage Against the Financial Machine

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Re: GameStop Is Rage Against the Financial Machine

#461

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The second that the shorts have covered the price isn't going to drop to $90, it's going to drop back to $20 and most of the WSBers who were holding out for $2000 will lose their shirts. The shorts are going to lose, no doubt. But once they've lost, the stock price is probably $20. A lot of WSBers are going to be holding stock at that point, and possibly on margin. And that stock is going to be a crappy retail stock.…

You're forgetting the stock is 125% over shorted. There literally isn't enough stock for shorts to cover their current positions. That's why there is potential for infinite, (huge) gains as long as everyone holds.

As someone who's new to this world of stock trading but now understands what a "short" is, could you elaborate on this?

How is it possible for a stock to be 125% over shorted? What does this mean?

Re: GameStop Is Rage Against the Financial Machine

#462
post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The second that the shorts have covered the price isn't going to drop to $90, it's going to drop back to $20 and most of the WSBers who were holding out for $2000 will lose their shirts. The shorts are going to lose, no doubt. But once they've lost, the stock price is probably $20. A lot of WSBers are going to be holding stock at that point, and possibly on margin. And that stock is going to be a crappy retail stock.…

They won't lose their shirts, just the beer money they spent on a meme. Plenty of them really don't care.

[deleted]

Re: GameStop Is Rage Against the Financial Machine

#463
post #431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The "little guy" refers to the Reddit traders that are making a killing right now, with the expectation that eventually the stock price will crash again. The reddit traders are only making a killing if they're selling these inflated positions. At some point somebody will be left holding the bag, odds are it will be a bunch of people from wallstreetbets and other retail investors that are late to the party. There's…

This would be justice though. If you were in it from the beginning as a true believer you probably got tons of money. If you’re just chaser and bandwagoner coming in at the end you will be punished for your greed along with the short sellers.

Why do you think those in it from the beginning are less greedy than those coming in later?

Re: GameStop Is Rage Against the Financial Machine

#464

> These points doubtless make me appear to be a complacent shill for the financial industry, talking down to the rubes. For the record, I’m still angry about the way workers were ripped off in Britain more than three decades ago, and about the way the little guy ended up bearing the brunt for the financial implosions of 2000 and 2008. But it looks horribly to me as though the same thing is going to happen again — and…

This Reddit Post is very revealing: https://twitter.com/inactivist_/status/1354537152445521923/p...

Not really. The people who are moving this money are largely not the people with a few hundred bucks to their names. The entire lot of those types don't even move the needle.

Re: GameStop Is Rage Against the Financial Machine

#465

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also very hard to exit a falling position. It was hard to exit a rising position this morning -- the stock was on trading hold multiple times. By the time you notice it's falling, it's too late to sell

You can manage risk with stop-loss. Its not really that hard. You can use this to "lock-in" profits without selling.

Stop loss is really the wrong term mathematically. In truth, a "stop loss" is really better thought of as a "max price". If you set it up to sell when the prices drops to $320, you are guaranteed that it will sell at a price below $320, not that it will sell at $320.

In truth, you are not even guaranteed to be able to find a buyer.

Re: GameStop Is Rage Against the Financial Machine

#466
I am tired of this misguided narrative that pits retail and r/wsb vs big bad wolf Wall Street hedge funds. This is not David and Goliath. There are hedge funds with deep pockets on both sides. Retail traders do not run sophisticated algos to jam the price 15 minutes from the open because they want to neuter circuit breakers. C’mon guys...

Re: GameStop Is Rage Against the Financial Machine

#467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sold a GME call option with a strike price of $320 and expiration in July today for $200. A pump and dump by novices is easy money if you know how to play it. Everyone knows this is going to crash, the question is when?

You got balls, yes the IVOL is insane and that's a nice premium, but if for some reason you have a repeat of today, you're out $20K plus. This thing will crater, yeah, but shorting it is insane and option volatility is ridiculous right now.

> but if for some reason you have a repeat of today, you're out $20K plus

Can you expand on this? Why would they be on the line for $20k+ (or anything) after selling the option?

Re: GameStop Is Rage Against the Financial Machine

#468
post #443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm generally sympathetic to the idea that financial derivatives are a great evil, and a huge part of what feels "broken" about the current system. However, consider futures, which are very similar to options. Futures were, as I understand it, popularized in Chicago as a way for farmers to be able to get money for their crop right now, at a fixed price. In this way, they could pass the risk -- and a little bit of the…

And in practice, how would that be different from incorporating and selling stocks to those investors, thus raising money now, and then growing in value as the crops are reaped?

[deleted]

Re: GameStop Is Rage Against the Financial Machine

#469
post #32

It's really not. Because eventually retail is going to get destroyed. Yes, some hedge funds have lost their shirts, but those are the first ones who were in the short before the squeeze. The hedge funds and more importantly day trading shops making money right now are the ones who saw the activity and are goosing the stock price right now. I don't know if people realize that there are thousands of day trading shops w…

It isn't just retail that is going to get destroyed -- the option-sellers may not have enough capital to hedge effectively. A lot of parties are going to be harmed by this; it is an expensive tuition payment to the school of hard knocks. The most interesting technical thing about this fracas is the fact that WSB has managed to play the options-sellers off against the shorts to set this off. The kids have temporarily…

That’s what I was wondering. Who is selling Jan 29th calls right now? They can’t all be covered. Is it the DMM?

Re: GameStop Is Rage Against the Financial Machine

#470

> These points doubtless make me appear to be a complacent shill for the financial industry, talking down to the rubes. For the record, I’m still angry about the way workers were ripped off in Britain more than three decades ago, and about the way the little guy ended up bearing the brunt for the financial implosions of 2000 and 2008. But it looks horribly to me as though the same thing is going to happen again — and…

Aren't almost all companies like this an integral part of almost everyone's pensions? Through your pension you're probably an investor in tens of thousands of companies and funds.

No.
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