how high did gamestop stock go in 2021

A clear, data‑driven answer to how high did GameStop stock go in 2021: intraday peaks (~$483 regular session, pre‑market trades >$500), official closing highs (unadjusted ~$347.51 on Jan 27, 2021),...

2025-09-20 04:51:00

By Ravi Clark

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How high did GameStop stock go in 2021?

Asking how high did GameStop stock go in 2021 gets to the heart of one of the most volatile equity episodes in recent U.S. market history. In short: during the January 2021 short‑squeeze event, intraday and pre‑market quotes showed peaks above $480 and even above $500 in some feeds, the highest official exchange closing price in late January 2021 was roughly $347.51 (unadjusted), and after later corporate actions the split‑adjusted closing high is commonly reported as $86.88. Below we unpack these figures, explain why multiple “high” numbers exist, and provide a day‑by‑day timeline and source notes so you can verify the records yourself.

Note: this article uses historical exchange and market‑data summaries to answer the question how high did gamestop stock go in 2021. As of 2025‑12‑31, according to historical data providers and contemporaneous reporting, the numbers cited below reflect the widely reported highs and their split adjustments.

Background: the 2021 short squeeze

In January 2021 GameStop Corp. (ticker GME) experienced an extraordinary short squeeze driven largely by coordinated retail trading activity and high short interest. Retail communities discussed heavy short interest and encouraged buying to force a short squeeze. Rapid buying, heightened intraday volume, frequent trading halts, and broker margin and settlement considerations combined to produce extreme price swings.

As of 2025‑12‑31, according to broad reporting on the episode, key amplifiers included:

Very high reported short interest in GME shares before the squeeze.
Large retail trading volumes concentrated in a short window (late January 2021).
Trading halts and broker restrictions on certain trading activities that changed liquidity and order routing dynamics.

This environment led to explosive intraday moves in late January 2021 and produced different headline figures depending on whether sources reported intraday highs, pre‑market trades, or official closing prices.

Definitions and price measurement types

Before listing numbers, it helps to define common price measures so the answer to how high did gamestop stock go in 2021 is precise and verifiable.

Intraday high (regular session): the highest trade price recorded during the official exchange trading hours (for NYSE, typically 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET). Many data vendors publish a daily high based on regular‑session ticks.
Pre‑market / after‑hours high: trades that occur before or after the regular session. These can produce prices higher or lower than the regular session high, but they are often reported separately by data aggregators.
Official close (exchange close): the recorded closing price for the trading day on the exchange; some analyses use official exchange settlement prices which may differ slightly from intraday prints.
Split‑adjusted price: historical prices adjusted to reflect later corporate actions (for example, a 4‑for‑1 stock split divides historical prices by four for easier comparison with current quotes). Whether a data series is adjusted affects headline highs reported in retrospective datasets.

Because the January 2021 episode involved both regular‑session spikes and pre‑market prints, and because GameStop later executed a stock split, you will see multiple valid “how high did gamestop stock go in 2021” answers depending on which measurement you use.

Key price highs in 2021 (numbers and dates)

Below are the commonly referenced high points from January 2021, organized by measurement type. All figures are reported from historical market data and contemporaneous coverage; each entry notes the typical sources that reported the number.

Intraday / regular session highs

~ $483 (late January 2021): Many market‑data feeds and financial outlets reported an intraday session peak in the high‑$400s during the late‑January 2021 run‑up. As of 2025‑12‑31, Yahoo Finance historical intraday summaries and TradingView intraday charts list session highs in this range for the Jan 27–28 period. Exact intraday peaks can vary slightly by feed because different trade ticks and venue reporting can show the highest trade as marginally different.

Why this matters: the intraday regular‑session high captures the highest transaction price recorded on exchanges during official market hours and is the figure many headlines reference when describing the day’s extreme volatility.

Pre‑market and other session highs

$500 (pre‑market on Jan 28, 2021): Some contemporaneous reports and summaries (including timelines maintained by major financial news resources) noted pre‑market prints exceeding $500 on January 28, 2021. As of 2025‑12‑31, Wikipedia’s GameStop short squeeze entry and TheStreet’s timeline both reference pre‑market reports above $500 on Jan 28. Pre‑market trades are valid price prints but are not part of the regular‑session high and may be reported differently across platforms.

Why this matters: pre‑market liquidity is thinner and price discovery differs from the regular session, so pre‑market highs can be meaningfully higher or lower than regular session highs. That is why some outlets report “over $500” while exchange daily highs remain listed lower.

Official closing highs (unadjusted)

~$347.51 (official close on Jan 27, 2021): Exchange records and widely used historical datasets show that the highest official exchange closing price in the late‑January 2021 episode was about $347.51 on January 27, 2021 (unadjusted for later splits). As of 2025‑12‑31, this unadjusted closing figure appears in raw daily OHLC records commonly used by data providers.

Why this matters: official closes are often used for daily return calculations, end‑of‑day reporting, and regulatory records. They differ from intraday prints and must be used consistently to avoid confusion.

Split‑adjusted closing highs

$86.88 (split‑adjusted closing high, Jan 27, 2021): After GameStop executed a 4‑for‑1 stock split in July 2022, historical prices are commonly adjusted to reflect that split. Many historical data aggregators (for example, Macrotrends and StatMuse) report a split‑adjusted all‑time closing high of $86.88 on January 27, 2021. As of 2025‑12‑31, these adjusted figures are standard in retrospective analyses to make 2021 prices comparable with post‑split prices.

How the adjustment is calculated: to convert an unadjusted historical price from before a 4‑for‑1 split into split‑adjusted terms, divide the historical price by 4. Conversely, to move an adjusted price back to unadjusted terms, multiply by 4. Example: an unadjusted close of ~$347.51 on Jan 27, 2021 becomes ~$347.51 ÷ 4 = $86.88 after a 4‑for‑1 split adjustment.

Timeline of price action in January 2021

Below is a concise, date‑by‑date timeline focusing on major price milestones and market events in late January 2021. Each entry ties the date to the relevant high or market development.

Early January 2021: GameStop traded at relatively low prices compared with the late‑January surge; retail attention gradually increased as community discussions highlighted large short interest.
Mid‑January 2021: Volume and price began to rise as more retail traders initiated purchases; several notable intraday gains occurred but the market had not yet reached the extremes seen later in the month.
Jan 26–27, 2021: Rapid escalation — heavy buying and intraday volatility pushed prices sharply higher. On Jan 27, 2021 the exchange recorded an official closing price near $347.51 (unadjusted). As of 2025‑12‑31, historical OHLC records show this close as one of the highest exchange closes during the episode.
Jan 28, 2021: Continued volatility with intraday session highs reported in the high‑$400s (around $483 in many data feeds) and pre‑market reports of prices exceeding $500. Multiple trading halts and wide bid‑ask spreads characterized the day.
Late January 2021 (immediate aftermath): Broker platforms introduced trading restrictions on certain titles; regulators and exchanges scrutinized the events; retail discussions continued but the initial squeeze activity settled over the following days and weeks as market liquidity and conditions evolved.

Reasons for discrepancies across sources

When readers ask how high did gamestop stock go in 2021, they will encounter different answers from different outlets. Common reasons for variation include:

Session type: regular session highs vs pre‑market/after‑hours prints. A pre‑market trade above $500 will produce a different headline than the regular session high.
Data vendor aggregation: tick‑level feeds, venue‑specific prints, and exchange consolidated tapes can show slightly different highest ticks depending on how trades were reported and consolidated.
Split adjustments: some historical datasets present split‑adjusted prices by default; others leave prices unadjusted. Adjusted figures are lower numerically after a forward split.
Rounding and snapshot timing: headline summaries may round numbers or quote the highest price feed they observed rather than the exchange consolidated high.

Because of these factors, it's normal to see headlines such as “over $500” alongside official daily highs in the mid‑$300s or split‑adjusted highs in the $80–$120 range depending on how the number is framed.

Corporate actions affecting comparability

A key corporate action affecting how we compare 2021 prices with later quotes is the 4‑for‑1 stock split executed by GameStop in July 2022.

The split reduces the per‑share price by a factor of four and increases the share count by the same factor. Post‑split data series that are adjusted make historical comparisons simpler.
Example conversion: to convert a pre‑split unadjusted price of $347.51 (Jan 27, 2021 close) into post‑split terms, divide by 4: $347.51 ÷ 4 = $86.88 (split‑adjusted closing high).

When you query how high did gamestop stock go in 2021, check whether the source you inspect has applied split‑adjustment; many modern charting services and historical aggregators apply splits automatically, which changes the headline numbers.

Aftermath and longer‑term price context (through end of 2021)

After the January short‑squeeze peaks, GameStop’s price history in the remainder of 2021 showed elevated volatility relative to pre‑January norms but did not sustain the January extremes. Trading volume and retail interest remained higher than in many prior years, while regulatory reviews and brokerage risk‑management changes influenced ongoing liquidity.

As of 2025‑12‑31, historical daily ranges for the rest of 2021 show the calendar‑year lows and highs were far below the January squeeze peaks when measured unadjusted, and split adjustments change the numeric comparisons for later years. The January event spurred regulatory attention on short selling mechanics, market‑access rules, and broker capital requirements.

Data sources and methodology

Primary data sources used to compile the figures and timeline in this article include exchange historical data and widely used historical aggregators and news timelines. As of 2025‑12‑31, the following sources were consulted and are commonly referenced when verifying how high did gamestop stock go in 2021:

Wikipedia — GameStop short squeeze (timeline and summary of reported pre‑market >$500 prints). Report access/summary date: 2025‑12‑31.
TheStreet — timeline and contemporaneous coverage of late‑January events (noting pre‑market >$500 claims). Report access/summary date: 2025‑12‑31.
Yahoo Finance — historical OHLC daily data and price articles that cite intraday highs near $483 in January 2021. Report access/summary date: 2025‑12‑31.
TradingView — intraday charts and tick summaries showing session peaks in the high‑$400s for late January 2021. Report access/summary date: 2025‑12‑31.
Macrotrends — split‑adjusted historical price series indicating an all‑time split‑adjusted closing high of $86.88 on Jan 27, 2021. Report access/summary date: 2025‑12‑31.
StatMuse — summary pages and price lookups that reflect split‑adjusted closing highs of $86.88 and intraday/session high listings. Report access/summary date: 2025‑12‑31.

How to interpret these sources:

Use raw exchange OHLC data when you need official daily closes and high/low prints; this avoids conflating pre‑market prints with regular session highs.
For split‑adjusted historical comparisons, prefer data that explicitly states the adjustment factor and adjustment date; apply the split factor consistently.
For intraday tick verification, consult tick‑level feeds or reputable charting platforms that clearly mark whether a given high occurred during the regular session or outside it.

Practical example: reconciling a headline claim

If you read a headline saying "GME topped $500 in January 2021," here is how to reconcile that claim:

Ask: does the headline refer to a pre‑market print or the regular trading session? If pre‑market, the claim can be accurate (some sources reported pre‑market prints above $500 on Jan 28, 2021).
Ask: is the source using split‑adjusted prices? If split‑adjusted, a $500 headline would not match the split‑adjusted highs; check whether figures are adjusted for the 4‑for‑1 split.
Consult multiple data providers (exchange OHLC, intraday tick charts) and note the session where the high occurred.

By applying this checklist you can determine whether a headline’s $‑value refers to pre‑market versus regular session prints and whether split adjustments have been applied.

Common FAQs (quick answers)

Q: Did GameStop reach $500 in 2021?
- A: Some pre‑market trades on Jan 28, 2021 were reported above $500 according to contemporaneous coverage; regular‑session intraday peaks were widely reported in the high‑$400s (around $483), while official exchange closes were lower (unadjusted close near $347.51 on Jan 27, 2021). As of 2025‑12‑31, these distinctions are reflected in historical feeds.
Q: What is the split‑adjusted high for GME in 2021?
- A: After applying the 4‑for‑1 split (July 2022), many providers show a split‑adjusted all‑time closing high of around $86.88 on Jan 27, 2021.
Q: Which figure should I use for analysis?
- A: Use the metric that matches your analysis purpose: official exchange closes for daily return calculations; intraday highs if you analyze tick‑level volatility; and split‑adjusted prices if you compare historical prices with post‑split quotes.

Reasons this episode matters for markets and traders

The January 2021 GameStop episode highlighted several broader market mechanics and risks without offering investment advice:

The interplay between concentrated retail buying, short interest, and liquidity can produce outsized intra‑day moves.
Broker margining and settlement rules can influence trading access and price formation in stressed conditions.
Split adjustments and how data vendors present historical prices matter when comparing price levels across corporate actions.

Regulators, exchanges, and market participants examined these lessons after the events to assess market resilience and transparency in extreme conditions.

References (selected sources and reporting dates)

Wikipedia — "GameStop short squeeze" (summary and timeline noting pre‑market >$500 reports). Accessed 2025‑12‑31.
TheStreet — Jan 2021 timeline and reporting on pre‑market prints and the January short squeeze. Accessed 2025‑12‑31.
Yahoo Finance — historical daily price data and reporting that cites intraday peaks near $483 in late January 2021. Accessed 2025‑12‑31.
Macrotrends — split‑adjusted historical price series reporting split‑adjusted closing high of $86.88 on Jan 27, 2021. Accessed 2025‑12‑31.
StatMuse — price‑lookup summaries for GME (all‑time closing and intraday highs, adjusted/unadjusted notes). Accessed 2025‑12‑31.
TradingView — intraday charts and tick data showing late January 2021 session peaks. Accessed 2025‑12‑31.

(Readers who need tick‑level verification should consult official exchange consolidated tape records or raw daily OHLC feeds from an exchange data vendor.)