SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah company became an unlikely beneficiary of a recent stock frenzy caused by Reddit.
In late January, a subreddit message board called “Wall Street Bets” spurred volatility on Wall Street — most notably with GameStop stock.
Some Reddit users promoted their efforts using electronic billboards. One such billboard flashed the note, “We like the stock.”
To get the billboards up quickly, the Reddit users utilized the services of a Utah-based company called Blip.
“We are democratizing billboards,” said Andy Gotshalk with Blip. “We want to make them accessible to anyone who wants to be able to put an ad up on that billboard.”
Blip says it allows users to submit their advertisements for the electronic billboards. After receiving approval, they can be displayed quickly and without long-term commitments.
“The key here was how easy it was for them to act,” Gotshalk said. “It was a very simple message. It was basically, we want to buy more of those stocks they were trying to push.”
Gotshalk estimates the company picked up roughly 4,000 users from the buzz generated on Reddit.
The large gains some investors saw with Game Stop (GME) stock have since tailed off. At its peak close, shares of GME were valued at $347.51 on January 27. Currently, shares are valued at $63.77.
The Securities and Exchange Commission issued these resources for short-term investors.
