- Mind Medicine stock jumped as high as 78% on Thursday after a report revealed a college student activist stake.
- The investor, Jake Freeman, and his uncle own a 4.5% stake in the Mind Med, according to the FT.
- Freeman is intending to use his position to push Mind Med to improve its business strategy.
A small pharmaceutical company may be the newest member of the meme stock club.
Mind Medicine stock shot up as much as 78% on Thursday, after a report revealed that a college student who made $110 million in the Bed Bath & Beyond rally has also amassed an activist stake in the pharmaceutical company with his uncle.
Shares pared some gains and were trading at $1.11 as of 2:46 p.m. ET, up 48%. The stock had climbed to as high as $1.26.
The jump appeared to have been driven by a Financial Times report on Bed Bath and Beyond investor, Jake Freeman. The report detailed the college student's massive windfall on a $25 million investment in Bed Bath & Beyond that netted him a profit of $110 million as the meme stock surged throughout this month.
But the article also revealed Freeman had an activist stake in Mind Medicine via an asset management firm directed with Freeman's uncle, former pharma executive Scott Freeman. Together, they hold 19 million shares, or 4.5% of the company.
The younger Freeman told MarketWatch that he was intending to have a "constructive dialogue" with the pharmaceutical firm on improving its operations. Freeman Capital Management sent a letter to Mind Med last week on potentially adopting new strategies in its business.
The company says it develops drugs using "psychedelics and other novel compounds" for psychiatric purposes. It's not yet profitable, reporting net losses of $93 million last year, according to company filings.