GameStop, AMC and other meme stocks are meming again

GameStop soared 37% Thursday, lifted by investors' hopes that a board overhaul could transform the video game store into a digital-first Amazon competitor. The company announced Tuesday that former Amazon fulfillment chief Jenna Owens would take over as GameStop's chief operating officer.

The company also said that it would replace its chief financial officer and shrink its board to nine directors from the current 13. Eight of GameStop's current directors will not seek reelection at the company's annual meeting later this year.

The company's stock has taken a pounding over the past few weeks -- particularly on Wednesday, when GameStop tumbled 33% following its miserable earnings report. Although it highlighted a few bright spots, including exploding digital growth, overall sales and profit fell short of Wall Street expectations.

But the Reddit army on subreddit WallStreetBets is a mighty one, and they were hopeful that GameStop had been oversold. The company's stock had plummeted 54% over the past two weeks, and they believe GameStop was getting cheap.

As shares of GameStop got a boost, so too did other chronically shorted meme stocks that redditors have sent on a wild ride this year. For example, AMC's stock was up 20% and Koss rose 42%. Macy's rose 7%.

AMC had been beaten to a pulp earlier this week after Disney announced it would delay "Black Widow" yet again and then premiere the Marvel superhero film simultaneously on Disney+ and in theaters. The movie theater company's stock had been down 35% this week.

Meme stocks soared as the broader market was having trouble figuring out what to do. The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher, and the Dow was up 100 points, or 0.3%. But the tech troubles continued on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq falling 0.2% a day after it tumbled 2% on renewed fears about rising bond yields.