GameStop plans to make Ryan Cohen chairman, stock jumps

GameStop announced plans Thursday to make activist investor Ryan Cohen its chairman, a move that drew praise from Reddit traders and boosted its stock price.

The Texas-based video-game retailer said its board of directors would elect Cohen — the Chewy.com founder who took a stake in GameStop last year — to the post following its annual meeting on June 9, just about five months after he joined the board. The news elicited immediate cheers on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum, where many members believe Cohen will turn GameStop from a struggling brick-and-mortar chain into a thriving digital gaming business.