Matt Levine’s Money Stuff: The Moon Emoji Is Securities Fraud

[Moon emoji]

Last August, Ryan Cohen did a very funny joke. Cohen — founder of online pet-food retailer Chewy, chairman of the board at GameStop Corp. and general meme-stock influencer and activist — had spent about $121 million to buy about 9.8% of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.’s stock in early 2022, and he sent Bed Bath’s board of directors a letter advocating some strategic changes. When his stake and activism were disclosed in March, the stock shot up 34% in one day, closing at $21.71 per share. But his strategy didn’t really work, Bed Bath kept deteriorating, and by August the stock ...