Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), the largest U.S. bedding store, soared on Tuesday, buoyed by news that GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen was making another bet on the struggling retailer, with retail trades active on social media People have bought the stock.

In midday trading on Tuesday, BBY's stock price soared as much as 79% and was suspended several times due to sharp fluctuations. The stock was the most actively traded on the day, with 385 million shares changing hands, more than 20 times the three-month average. The stock was up 29% at $20.65 as of Tuesday's close.

Shares of BBBY have surged 349% over the past three weeks, even as Wall Street investment banks sounded the alarm about the stock's high valuation. At least three investment banks downgraded BBBY and advised investors to dump the company's shares in a "meme stock frenzy."

B Riley Securities analyst Susan Anderson downgraded the stock to "sell" from "neutral" earlier on Tuesday, calling the company's $1.65 billion valuation "unrealistic." Baird's Justin Kleber downgraded the stock last week before the stock's latest surge, warning that "fundamental risk/reward does not look attractive" as market share losses accelerate and the company continues to burn through cash.

But none of that stopped the buying spree by retail investors, who have poured $99 million into the stock since July 26, according to data compiled by Vanda. The stock posted a record $46 million in net inflows on Monday, when the stock surged 24% to close at its highest level since late April.

Some investors are still banking on further gains in stock prices. Call options betting the stock will trade above $45 by the end of the week, along with other contracts betting on the stock rising to $80 by mid-January, were the most active derivatives tied to the stock, the data showed. one.

Short sellers of BBBY suffered heavy losses in this "meme stock frenzy." BBBY short-sellers lost $662 million in mark-to-market this month on paper, including $218 million on Tuesday, according to financial analysis firm S3 Partners. Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of S3 Partners, said in an email that the stock is “very well under pressure” given the crowded short positions and could be pushed higher as short sellers are forced to cover their positions.

Other meme stocks such as GameStop and AMC were also active Tuesday. Shares of GameStop soared as much as 15% at one point, triggering a trading halt, while AMC shares recovered their losses and closed up 2.5%.

BBBY stock is the most purchased asset on Fidelity's platform, with more than twice as many buy orders as Tesla. The stock has been mentioned the most on WallStreetBets forums on Reddit's WallStreetBets forum, the "home of retail investors" in the United States, and has also become a trending topic on the popular chat room StockTwits. Debt tied to the company also rose on Tuesday, making it one of the biggest gains in the high-yield bond market.

Still, even after its recent rally, the stock is down 61% from its January 2021 peak, and Wall Street analysts think more losses are to come. The average 12-month price target for the stock from Wall Street analysts is $4.49, implying a nearly 80% decline from current levels, according to the data. Two-thirds of analysts recommend that investors sell the stock, the largest percentage in at least a decade.