GameStop, Short Squeezes, and Predatory Trading
Transcript of GameStop, Short Squeezes, and Predatory Trading
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Lasse Pedersen Markus BrunnermeierCBS and AQR Princeton
Hosted from PRINCETONFor EVERYONE, WORLDWIDE
Webinar
19. February 2021
GameStop, Short Squeezes, andPredatory Trading
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Special form of predatory trading … Pump and dump schemes
"He who sells what isn't his’n, must buy it back or go to pris'n." (Daniel Drew) Historical Examples: 1901 Northern Pacific Railroads 1923 Piggly Wiggly (supermarket) 1980 Silver short squeeze by Hunt brothers 2008 Volkswagen (attempted takeover by Porsche)
Policy questions: Transparency of short-positions Limit “naked shorts”?
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Short Squeezes in history
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What’s new? “Meme Investing”use social media platforms to coordinateMeme an idea that is passed from one member of society
to another, not in the genes but often by people copying it
Echo chambers phenomenon Learn from other retail investors … don’t realize that news is not a new confirmation
but simply traveled back
Coordination + transparency eases collusion
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Meme investing
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View 1 – Principle: Eliminate inefficiencies, manipulation, … Improve market microstructure/plumbing/regulation View 2 – Principle: Fair level playing field Wall Street insiders have unfair advantage (order execution,…) Allow retail investors to collude to “manipulate too” Theory of the second best (fight one inefficiency with another one)
Robinhood: crowd vs. elite (democratization) take from the rich, give to the poor Let the poor compete with the rich But is payment for order flow model fair for retail investors? Buyer of information can front run retail investor Reveal to market maker that it is non-informed trading
But gamification – exploit behavioral biases4
“Many Davids vs. Goliath” view
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Shorting (by retail investor) Borrowing the shares from
owner/prime broker/custodian against a fee Sell it, say for $100 (to a new owner who can lend it again) Keep $100 + margin $10 in prime brokerage account
Risks: Margin calls if stock price rises Recall of share by lender of shares
Shorting by a prime broker? (use other’s shares to sell) Margin calls from clearing house
Naked Shorts? Delay in settlement (one or two days) Short and promise to borrow, but undo short before settlement
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Short interest > 100% ≠ “Naked shorts”
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Who are the predators?a. Short-sellersb. Crowd of small investorsc. Clearing housed. WallStreetBet of Reddit Should we regulate predatory trading behavior and meme-investing?
a. No, it just balances the power w.r.t. hedge fundsb. Noc. Yes, since it makes markets less efficientWill predatory traders win out at the end?
a. Yesb. No Are speculative excesses around GameStop
a. Just the tip of the iceberg? b. An occasional special phenomenon when market is irrational? 6
Poll Questions
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GameStop and Predatory Trading
AQR is a global investment management firm. The views expressed herein are those of the author, and not necessarily those of AQR.
Lasse Heje Pedersen
February 19, 2021
AQR Capital Management, Copenhagen Business School, CEPR
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Outline of the Talk
• What is predatory trading?
• GameStop: What happened• Why did the price rise and why did it fall?• Why did Robinhood restrict trading?• Why did many short sellers liquidate their positions?
• What do we learn more broadly?
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Source: Predatory Trading (Brunnermeier and Pedersen, The Journal of Finance).
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What is Predatory Trading?
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What is Predatory Trading
Predatory trading: • Trading that induces and/or exploits
the need of other investors to reduce their positions
• Leads to price overshooting
• Crisis can spill over across traders and across markets
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Source: Predatory Trading (Brunnermeier and Pedersen, The Journal of Finance).
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How Predatory Trading Does Not Work
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Source: Predatory Trading (Brunnermeier and Pedersen, The Journal of Finance). For illustrative purposes only.
Time
Price
420
20
220
Demand moves prices• But market impact is normally a trading cost
• Not how investors typically make money
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How Predatory Trading Works
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Source: Predatory Trading (Brunnermeier and Pedersen, The Journal of Finance). For illustrative purposes only.
Time
Price
420
20
Predators exploit • Forced buyers (short squeeze), or
• Tricked buyers (pump and dump)
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Predatory Trading: Spillover Effects
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Source: Predatory Trading (Brunnermeier and Pedersen, The Journal of Finance). For illustrative purposes only.
Time
Price
420
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One trader’s distress liquidation moves price other traders in distress
Spreads to other markets
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GameStop: What Happened?
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What Happened: Retail Buying and Short Squeeze
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Retail buyers
Stockmarket
Optionmarket
Other buyers/sellers
For illustrative purposes only.
Citadel
Shorting hedge funds:Melvin
Brokers
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Hearing: U.S. House Committee on Financial Services
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Retail buyers
Stockmarket
Optionmarket
Other buyers/sellers
For illustrative purposes only.
Citadel
Shorting hedge funds:Melvin
Brokers
Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty/DeepF**Value
Vlad Tenev, CEO
Steve Huffman, CEO
Ken Griffin, CEO
GabrielPlotkin,
CEO
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Open High Low Close
GameStop: Price 2021
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Thursday, January 28: High 483, Low 112.25
Source: Xpressfeed. For illustrative purposes only.
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Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 Aug-20 Sep-20 Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20 Jan-21
Open High Low Close
GameStop: Price and Volatility, Past 12 Months
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Price, Log Scale
Source: Xpressfeed and own calculations. For illustrative purposes only.
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Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 Aug-20 Sep-20 Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20 Jan-21
Volatility (10d annualized)
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GameStop: Turnover, Past 12 Months
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Source: Xpressfeed. For illustrative purposes only.
Daily Turnover
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200%
300%
Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 Aug-20 Sep-20 Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20 Jan-21
Peak: 1/22/2021
Trading restrictions 1/28/2021
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Why Buying? Reddit, WallStreetBets
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Retail sentiment: • Gamification of trading• GameStop belief/nostalgia
• Ryan Cohen turnaround?(investor, board member)
• Shorting is “wrong”
For illustrative purposes only.
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Not just Retail Buying
Retail order flow executed via Citadel Securities• Source: Bloomberg Money Stuff, Matt Levine, citing Citadel, 1/29/2021
Buying by others • Option hedgers • Shortsellers closing their positions• Institutional investors• Other retail• Etc.
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Source: Bloomberg Money Stuff, Matt Levine, 1/29/2021, citing Citadel
0100200300400500600
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Why Did Robinhood Restrict Trading?
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Retail buyers
Stockmarket
OptionmarketSEC other
regulators
Market manipulation is illegal• Trading to squeeze shorts illegal?• Halting trading illegal?
Margins
Other buyers/sellers
t+2 settlement • Contributor to large margin call?
For illustrative purposes only.
Citadel
Shorting hedge funds:Melvin
Brokers
ClearingHouses
(DTCC, NSCC, OCC)
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Payment for Order Flow
Market makers: • Earn the bid-ask spread: • Lose money from − Informed counterparties− Large counterparties
Retail investors: attractive counterparties− Especially if the minimum tick size is binding
Payment for order flow• Get first pick on these orders: conflict of interest? transparency?• Retail investors benefit from − Price improvements− Payment from order flow zero commissions
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3.043.033.023.013.002.992.982.97
For illustrative purposes only.
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Margin Requirements
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Retail buyers
Source: Testimony of Vladimir Tenev, Robinhood Markets, Inc., Hearing before U.S. House Committee on Financial Services.For illustrative purposes only.
Increased margins to 100%; limited new options positions in GameStop
ClearingHouses
(DTCC, NSCC, OCC)
Excess capital premium charge
$2.2 billion
Trading restrictions on GameStop and other securities law suit
Robinhood raised $3.4B from existing investors (incl. Sequoia Capital and Ribbit Capital)
Announced that it would reallow limited buys
Robinhood Actions vis-à-vis Retail
Clearing House Actions vis-à-vis Robinhood
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Why Did Shortsellers Liquidate their Positions?
A short squeeze can happen for “technical” reasons• Shares recalled, short sellers forced to close positions
In the case of GameStop• Securities lending markets affected by high turnover, but largely remained “open”• Short sellers could not sustain losses–own covering exacerbated the problem
• Short positions increase in size and volatility when the price move against them
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Source: Estimates based on Markit, Xpressfeed, and own calculations. For illustrative purposes only.
0.00
50.00
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150.00
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250.00
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0%
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120%
1/4/
2021
1/5/
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1/6/
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1/9/
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1/10
/202
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/202
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/202
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/202
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/202
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/202
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/202
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/202
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/202
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2/1/
2021
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Estimated shorting (left scale)
Closing price (right scale)
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The Costs to Shortsellers
Shorting costs (securities lending fees)• Securities Lending, Shorting, and Pricing, Duffie, Garleanu, and Pedersen (2002)
P&L• Melvin Capital, January: about $-7B (-53%)• S3 estimated total P&L of all shortsellers− January: $-14.8B− February 1-12: $ 6.3B
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Source: S3. For illustrative purposes only.
0%
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150%
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Aug-20 Sep-20 Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20 Jan-21
Bid Offer Last
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Why did the Price Eventually Fall?
• Recent buyers • “Diamond hands” or no intention to keep stock at $400?
• Sign of bubble and/or predatory trading
• New short sellers• Previous owners
• Believed in the company at $20, but may want to sell at $400
Price drop was a matter of time • With or without short sellers
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Source: Lasse Heje Pedersen.
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GameStop: Spreading to Other Markets
Spillover to a number of other securities, e.g. • AMC; Blackberry; Bed, Bath and Beyond• Silver (not a very big price move)
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Source: Xpressfeed. For illustrative purposes only.
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Open High Low Close
AMC sold $304.8 million worth of stock at an average price of $4.81 per share.
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What Do We Learn?
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What Do We Learn
Reinforcing old lessons:• Demand moves prices
• For socks and stocks• Market is not perfectly liquid, e.g. Shleifer (1986)
• Demand can be irrational• Behavioral finance, excess volatility, Shiller, Thaler• Repeat news, Huberman-Regev (01) Tetlock (11)• Name confusion
• Shorting complications• Market efficiency requires both positive and negative
news to be reflected in prices• Short-sellers can make prices − lower (micro) and higher (macro)
• Predatory trading: • Price-destabilizing speculation• Market manipulation
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Source: Lasse Heje Pedersen.
What is new:
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What Do We Learn
Reinforcing old lessons:• Demand moves prices
• For socks and stocks• Market is not perfectly liquid, e.g. Shleifer (1986)
• Demand can be irrational• Behavioral finance, excess volatility, Shiller, Thaler• Repeat news, Huberman-Regev (01) Tetlock (11)• Name confusion
• Shorting complications• Market efficiency requires both positive and negative
news to be reflected in prices• Short-sellers can make prices − lower (micro) and higher (macro)
• Predatory trading: • Price-destabilizing speculation• Market manipulation
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Source: Lasse Heje Pedersen.
What is new: • Social media and IT
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Implications of Improved Information Technology
The hope:
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Source: Lasse Heje Pedersen. For illustrative purposes only.
Improved information
sharing
People more informed
More truth, better
decisionsBetter real outcomes
More efficient market
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Implications of Improved Information Technology
The fear:
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Source: Lasse Heje Pedersen. For illustrative purposes only.
People more confused
(echo chambers)
Worse decisions
Worse real outcomes
Less efficient market
Improved information
sharing
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What Do We Learn
Reinforcing old lessons:• Demand moves prices
• For socks and stocks• Market is not perfectly liquid, e.g. Shleifer (1986)
• Demand can be irrational• Behavioral finance, excess volatility, Shiller, Thaler• Repeat news, Huberman-Regev (01) Tetlock (11)• Name confusion
• Shorting complications• Market efficiency requires both positive and negative
news to be reflected in prices• Short-sellers can make prices − lower (micro) and higher (macro)
• Predatory trading: • Price-destabilizing speculation• Market manipulation
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Source: Lasse Heje Pedersen.
What is new: • Social media and IT
• “Predators” paper trail
• Predators moral?
• Size of effect• Very large effect, at least in percent• But how large more broadly?
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How Big is the Effect?
• GameStop: Percent change • 2315% price increase from $20 to $483 (high on Jan. 28)• (Shorting from $483 to $20 is only a 96% return.)
• GameStop: Market capitalization• Jan. 4, 2021: $1.2B• High on Jan. 28: $34B • 0.07% of US equities (The Gap~$9B, Moderna~$71B)
• Real effects• No issuance by GME - zero-sum among investors (due to GME inside info.*)• Issuance by AMC: raised about $300m− At-the-market offering− Selling directly into the market (rather than institutional bookbuilding)
• Tip of the iceberg or the entire iceberg?
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* Source: Bloomberg opinion, Matt Levine, 2/11/2021
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Deep Value
Deep Value, Asness, Liew, Pedersen, and Thapar, forthcoming• Price dislocations not uncommon, related to fundamentals, but over-
reaction, limited arbitrage incl. by firms themselves
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Source: Deep Value (Asness, Liew, Pedersen, and Thapar, forthcoming). For illustrative purposes only.
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When Everyone Runs for the Exit
When Everyone Runs for the Exit, Lasse H. Pedersen (2009), The International Journal of Central Banking 5, 177- 199.
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Source: When Everyone Runs for the Exit (Lasse H. Pedersen (2009), The International Journal of Central Banking 5, 177- 199). For illustrative purposes only.
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Close Cousin: Liquidity Spirals
Market Liquidity and Funding Liquidity, Brunnermeier and Pedersen (2009), The Review of Financial Studies 22, 2201- 2238
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Source: Market Liquidity and Funding Liquidity (Brunnermeier and Pedersen 2009, the Review of Financial Studies 22, 2201 – 2238). For illustrative purposes only.
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Pricing by Fundamentals or Memes?
Examples• Bitcoin about $700B• Tesla about $800B• SPACs• US equities: $50,000B
The market is efficiently inefficient• Efficient enough that active investing is difficult, • Inefficient enough that trying just worthwhile for marginal investor
On the Impossibility of Informationally Efficient Markets, Grossman and Stiglitz (1980), American Economic Review, 70, 393–408.Efficiently Inefficient Markets for Assets and Asset Management, Garleanu and Pedersen (2018), The Journal of Finance, 73 (4), 1663-1712.
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Source: On the Impossibility of Informationally Efficient Markets (Grossman and Stiglitz (1980), American Economic Review, 70, 393–408) and Efficiently Inefficient Markets for Assets and Asset Management (Garleanu and Pedersen (2018), The Journal of Finance, 73 (4), 1663-1712).
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