Retailer Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) doesn’t seem like it’ll last long. Stores are closing, bankruptcy is calling, and there are already some who believe that there won’t be a Bed Bath & Beyond left by 2024. Yet somehow, Bed Bath & Beyond stock blasted up today. Why? Well, your first guess is probably the right one. If that guess was “meme-stock frenzy,” then you’ve called it, at least according to a couple of reports.
There was very little news that anyone could spot that would prompt a sudden run-up in share prices. The sudden upward burst actually turns around two days of selling, and so far this year, BBBY shares are up 43%. Already, some experts—like Capital.com’s Justin McQueen—are warning that such hype around distressed stocks could be dangerous.
Several major analysts have already given up on Bed Bath & Beyond. Bloomberg put the stock on its Americas Distressed Watch list. Raymond James’ Bobby Griffin noted that there was no longer enough “institutional relevance” to keep rating the stock and adding estimates. Loop Capital’s Anthony Chukumba believes that Bed Bath & Beyond is “…just simply not relevant anymore.” Chukumba also expects Bed Bath & Beyond to fail to survive the year.
Overall, analyst consensus calls BBBY stock a Strong Sell with 58.35% downside risk thanks to its average price target of $1.36 per share.
