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Melvin Capital says it was short GameStop since 2014

Hedge-fund manager Gabe Plotkin defends short-selling strategy in House testimony

Melvin Capital Management had been betting against GameStop since 2014 and still believes online videogame downloads will overtake the retailer’s business model, the hedge fund’s founder said in an advance copy of his congressional testimony made public on 17 February.

Gabe Plotkin’s Melvin Capital lost more than 50% on its investments in January as losses piled up from its short bets against GameStop and other companies. GameStop had been touted on the Reddit forum WallStreetBets and some other social media platforms, with its surging stock prices damaging the returns of several high-profile firms including Steven A. Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management and Daniel Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners.

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