Bankrupt Blockbuster joins Reddit-inspired retail rally

Only one Blockbuster store survives, in Bend, Oregon.

Bankrupt Blockbuster joins Reddit-inspired retail rally

The latest nostalgia stock to jump on the Reddit rally is BB Liquidating Inc., the final remnant of bankrupt video-rental company Blockbuster.

The penny stock surged as much as 302% Wednesday, adding to Tuesday’s 774% spike, on volume that was 70 times the three-month average, showing that even the most retrograde of old-technology stocks isn’t immune to the ebullience of retail investors and day traders.

Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010 as competitors like Netflix Inc. eliminated the need for bricks-and-mortar video-rental stores. Only one Blockbuster store survives, in Bend, Oregon.

While equity owners typically are left with nothing in a bankruptcy, investors have flocked to such stocks before: Hertz Global Holdings Inc. soared last year after filing for Chapter 11, prompting the company to warn new investors they were all but certain to be wiped out.

—Bloomberg News