The number of Robinhood users holding Kodak stocks soars after Trump admin announces $765M loan
As of Thursday afternoon, more than 125,000 Robinhood users held Kodak stocks, a more than 1200% increase from last week.
Kodak's stock soared after the company secured a $765 million loan from the Trump administration to launch a pharmaceutical manufacturing business. Kodak stocks jumped up by over 200% on Tuesday, increasing to 318% by Wednesday. On Thursday, the stock price has fallen about 14% as of press time, hovering around $28. (Eagle-eyed stock watchers noted that Kodak's stock moved upward prior to the Trump administration's announcement, raising concerns about a possible leak that the company's CEO declined any knowledge of.)
Kodak, once known for its film and cameras, has pivoted several times since it declared bankruptcy in 2012. In May, Kodak reported a GAAP net loss of $111 million for the first quarter of 2020.
Robintrack, which catalogs activity on the popular brokerage app, shows a big swell in activity around Kodak's stock in the wake of the loan announcement. The number of Kodak stockholders has since dipped slightly after rising above 130,000.
The company also had a brief stint in the crypto space when it launched KodakONE, a blockchain project that would allow photographers to store and track the use of their photographs. The announcement on that initiative provided a significant but temporary boost to Kodak's public share price, as reported at the time.
Kodak also lent its name to KodakCoin, an ostensibly photographer-oriented cryptocurrency created by a third-party company called WENN Digital. The token's public sale was initially scheduled for January 2018 but was delayed because of concerns over the way the process would be vetted.
