After GameStop and AMC stock rose to ridiculous levels thanks to an online army of Reddit soldiers, the question on Wall Street, and all over the world is what company is next to benefit from this coordinated effort to take down hedge funds who have shorted certain stocks.

American Airlines stocks rose more than 10% Wednesday morning after one discussion appeared on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum.  It posed this question; “AAL next GME?  Thoughts? AAL majorly shorted when all the other airlines aren’t,” one user wrote. “Let’s get this bread wsb!!”

Translating that message, wsb stands for “r/wallstreetbets,” which is a forum on Reddit where the high profile chatter has been taking place.

After that question, there was chatter on the board about American stock potentially hitting “$30” on Thursday. So there’s speculation American Airlines could be the next to benefit from the Reddit support that drove GameStop and AMC to rise to unfathomable levels.

American Airlines closed up more than 6% on Wednesday at a price of $16.56.  That’s the highest it has traded at since Dec. 3.  They are also scheduled to report fourth quarter earnings on Thursday.  Similar to other U.S. domestic airlines, American has been pounded during the coronavirus pandemic.

The frenzy caused by the Reddit community has garnered the attention of the White House, Treasury Department and the SEC.  They, like the rest of the financial world will be watching what happens on Thursday.

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