What you say may be true, but isn't it also true that Robin Hood knew that what they did couldn't be sustained and the higher they pumped Game Store up, the more investors would lose when it fell. I know nothing about Game Stop, but I don't believe it warrants the share price it was elevated to.
Essentially this was very similar to a pump and dump, but a brokerage was participating. I believe it went farther than they intended, but you never know in a pump, and dump.
What's probably most important to Game Stop is did they take advantage of what occurred. As I understand it, Institutions were shorting them in the belief they'd fail, they may have been right. If Game Stop was able to sell shares ATM when the price was pumped up, they may just have a treasury that will assure they'll not only survive, they can thrive. I've not heard if they did in fact make money on what was done, or if they had anything to do with how it was done. If they had a valid vehicle for issuing shares ATM, more power to them.
I've never liked the idea that people, or Institutions, make money by dragging companies down, I rather like the fact that some were burned yesterday, but it is legal. Until they make such actions illegal, who can prevent them from happening.
On rare occasions I've made money selling calls on stock I owned, but on at least one occasion I had stock called out when I hadn't expected it. Why? While it was in the money, it was several weeks from expiration, I intended to repurchase the call before expiration if the price didn't fall. I lucked out, the price did fall and I reacquired the stock at a profit. My point is, if a stock has options available, we all can do options. While I'd prefer that weren't available, it is. Naked shorting is another matter, it's not something we all can do, though I suppose it's not that hard to do. Back in 2008 the economy was largely brought down by naked shorting. There are SEC provisions against it, but they're rarely enforced. Whether it's done legally, or illegally, I'd prefer it not being legal, and actively prosecuted. Options are certainly a legal way of taking the long, or short side, and even they ought to be rethought IMHO, but I will use them.
I'm old fashioned, I prefer investing only in companies I think will grow, and frankly don't care for purchasing, or selling at hundredths or tenths of a cent on anything other than a penny stock. Computer trading programs that buy and sell on less than a penny don't enhance the market IMHO, but they too are legal. Years ago stock spreads were often in eights or quarters of a dollar, a sixteenth of a dollar was a small spread, it wouldn't support the sort of computerized trading we have today, even a penny would not be small enough to support the way computers are programmed to buy and sell. I'd like to see some old fashioned investing practices returned to the marketplace.
Gary
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