Pearson shares rise on GameStop contagion

Pearson PLC (LON:PSON) shares gained over 12% in early trading on Wednesday as a rally in heavily shorted stocks continued its move in Europe. The moves in heavily shorted stocks began with GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) in the US when an army of traders on the WallStreetBets subreddit helped push the company’s share price higher, forcing it to halt trading a number of times. GameStop shares closed Tuesday at $147.98, up 92% on the day before rallying a further 41% in after market trading.

Other company’s that have seen similar moves across the pond include BlackBerry Ltd (NYSE:BB), whose shares have rallied around 50% this week, and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC), who has seen similar moves.

The share price moves were mostly contained in the US and Canada, however, now we’re seeing a surge in European stocks too. FTSE 100 component Pearson was one of the main beneficiaries. The education provider and former owner of the Financial Times has had a tough year amid the shift to online learning and has been forced to issue numerous profit warnings in recent updates. Short interest in Pearson is above 13% of free float, according to IHS Markit

Other movers in Europe with short interest as a high percentage of free float include CD PROJEKT SA (WA:CDR), Klepierre SA (PA:LOIM) and WFD Unibail Rodamco NV (AS:URW).