Is a beaten-down retailer the newest meme stock?

That's one possible explanation for today's jump in shares of Kohl's (KSS), which were recently up some 30% in early trading, leading to a temporary halt in trading. The rise had earlier wiped out a year-to-date slide that had erased roughly a quarter of the company's market value, though the move had cooled a bit from morning highs.

The move didn't follow any fresh corporate news, and its next quarterly earnings release isn't imminent. It's possible traders have instead seized on the stock—which is heavily shorted, possibly making it a candidate for a squeeze—as a vehicle for dramatic action, with the shares recently a topic of conversation on Reddit's go-go wallstreetbets forum.

Kohl's first-quarter results, published in late May, were better than expected, though they followed on news that the company had fired its CEO not long into the announcement of an ambitious turnaround plan.

Wall Street is broadly bearish, with Visible Alpha's mean price target at $8, below Monday's $10.42 per share close. UBS analysts on Monday reiterated a $4 target.

Read the original article on Investopedia