GameStop (GME) Shares Stall After Ryan Cohen Pay Plan Announcement

GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) shares are trading flat Tuesday afternoon as the company garners attention following the announcement of a new compensation plan for CEO Ryan Cohen. Here’s what investors need to know. GameStop stock is trading near recent lows. Where is GME stock headed? GameStop’s Surge: A Performance-Driven Strategy GameStop recently announced that its board of directors granted Ryan Cohen a stock option award that will vest based on specific performance milestones, potentially reaching around $35 billion if the company achieves a market capitalization of $100 billion and a cumulative EBITDA of $10 billion. Since Cohen joined the board, GameStop’s market capitalization has surged from $1.3 billion to $9.3 billion, reflecting a remarkable increase of around 600%. The company has also improved its financial health, transitioning from a net loss of $381.3 million in fiscal 2021 to a net income of $421.8 million over the last four fiscal quarters. The broader market is experiencing declines on Tuesday afternoon, with the Dow Jones down 0.97%, the Nasdaq-100 falling 0.40%, and the S&P 500 down 0.43%. GameStop’s rise comes as the broader market struggles, suggesting that its movement may be driven by company-specific factors rather than overall market sentiment. Key Indicators: Balancing Bullishness and Bearish Trends GameStop is currently trading 2% below its 20-day SMA and 8.6% below its 100-day SMA, reflecting a bearish trend. Shares have decreased by approximately 32.45% over the past 12 months and are positioned closer to their 52-week lows than highs. The RSI is at 44.33, which is considered neutral territory, indicating no immediate overbought or oversold conditions. Meanwhile, MACD is above its signal line, suggesting a bullish momentum. The combination of neutral RSI and bullish MACD suggests mixed momentum for the stock. Key Resistance: $24.50 Key Support: $20 Understanding The Valuation Amidst Earnings Growth Investors are looking ahead to the next earnings report on March 24. EPS Estimate: 31 cents (Up from 30 cents year-over-year) Revenue Estimate: $1.47 billion (Up from $1.28 billion YoY) Valuation: P/E of 23.8x (Indicates fair valuation) Valuation Insight: While the stock trades at a fair P/E multiple, the consensus and 3% expected earnings growth suggest analysts view this growth as justification for the current valuation. Benzinga Edge Rankings Below is the Benzinga Edge scorecard for GameStop, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses compared to the broader market: Momentum: Weak (Score: 7.87/100) — Stock is underperforming the broader market. Value: Strong (Score: 72.84/100) — Trading at a fair valuation relative to peers. Growth: Bullish (Score: 96.21/100) — Strong growth potential indicated. The Verdict: GameStop’s Benzinga Edge signal reveals a mixed outlook. While the Growth score indicates strong potential, the low Momentum score suggests that the stock is struggling to gain traction in the current market environment. Top ETF Exposure VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF (NASDAQ:ESPO): 4.54% Weight AGF US Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund ETF (NYSE:BTAL): 0.47% Weight SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSE:XRT): 1.54% Weight Significance: Because GME carries significant weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock. Price Action GME Price Action: GameStop shares were up 0.19% at $21.02 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Image: Shutterstock