GameStop Corp. (GME)

It doesn't have much going for it as a business. In contrast, TTWO just delivered a strong quarter based on selling videogames direct to customers online and cutting out the brick-and-mortar middleman which is GameStop. Doesn't matter, because there bulls who want to push this stock higher; they are the so-called meme traders. With more stimulus cheques, though, these bulls will eventually run out of firepower.

Is up 3268% in the past year, 772% YTD and 6% today. And yet the company rewarded their CEO Sherman by ousting the him. True, this move had to do with activist investor Ryan Cohen instead who'll be chairman; he plans to digitize this brick and mortar company, but details? What is he planning? It's vague, though younger investors have faith in him. He suggests he turns their 5,000 stores into Bitcoin banks then set up e-gaming palaces in shopping malls where winners are paid in cryptos. Mind you, a recent report from Goldman Sachs notes that younger retail investors are trading less sharply from August 2020.

The co-founder of CHWY-N bought 13% and joined the board to transform GME into a digital business. But how will he transform 5,000 shops into a digital business? They report Tuesday; he presumes we will see this plan then. He can't see this stock rising beyond current levels, though a good plan that incorporates e-sports and cryptos could attract more buyers. But if these bulls don't get what they want, GME can turn ugly fast.

The world’s largest video game retailer. They’ve done a lot of things well. To combat online gaming, they have a great trade program. If someone is tired of a game, they can take the video to this company, and get credit for the new hot game they want, and that ability is not available online. The challenge is that they are going through a transition of being known as a video game retailer to being a sort of entertainment media outlet, and are doing that in a variety of ways, including getting into selling mobile phones. Expects this will trade at a discount because the market is worried about what it will look like 5 years from now. The balance sheet looks pretty good and pays a juicy dividend of 8%.

The challenge for this company is more secular rather than cyclical. They specialize in trading used video games. With digital downloads and digital formats, there is less and less of that going on, which is one reason the stock has not done well. Their balance sheet in the meantime has gone from rich in cash to just OK. Going forward, the prospects are somewhat uncertain.

(Top Pick Jan 16/15, Down 19.11%) It was up over 20% a few months ago. The drop is overdone. It is not well understood on the street.