GameStop, dynaCERT, Infineon: Three Paths from Penny Stock to High Flyer

GameStop: From Bankruptcy Candidate to eBay Buyer?

This almost unbelievable story has had Wall Street on the edge of its seat for weeks: GameStop, a supposedly dying video game retail chain, wants to acquire eBay—for USD 56 billion, half in cash and half in its own shares. eBay's board of directors has rejected the offer, calling it "neither credible nor attractive." But GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen is not giving up. According to the latest regulatory filing, the video game retailer now holds 43.4 million eBay shares, representing a 9.8% stake. Whether this will ultimately result in a real deal, or whether the company, valued at just under USD 10 billion, will overextend itself by attempting to swallow the online auction house that is more than four times its size, remains to be seen. One thing is certain: The fact that a former struggling company like GameStop is even playing in a league where it can consider acquiring one of the world's largest online retailers would have been unthinkable six years ago.

Adjusted for the stock split, GameStop shares were trading around USD 0.60 at the end of 2019—a crisis level. Its business model, centred on brick-and-mortar stores, was shaken by the boom in digital game downloads, and the pandemic further exacerbated the situation. Hedge funds sensed the impending demise and built up massive short positions. At one point, around 140% of the freely tradable shares were shorted—more than actually existed. Then, in January 2021, a short squeeze occurred, turning GameStop into a stock market legend. Users of the Reddit forum "wallstreetbets" organized and bought shares and call options en masse to deliberately corner the hedge funds. Melvin Capital, one of the largest short sellers, lost approximately USD 6.8 billion, 53% of its capital, within a month and had to be bailed out by other funds. GameStop's shares surged to USD 120 by January 2021. In media coverage, such as the Netflix documentary "Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga", the campaign was repeatedly interpreted as an act of revenge by a generation that had witnessed, during the 2008–09 financial crisis, their parents lose their homes and savings while the banks were bailed out and carried on with impunity. As a pop-culture narrative, the image of the small investor giving hedge funds a run for their money has become firmly established.

Under the leadership of major investor Ryan Cohen, GameStop capitalized on the high share prices and carried out a series of capital increases. The largest of these, in May 2024, brought in approximately USD 933 million. Since then, the company has evolved into a sort of holding company with substantial cash and crypto reserves. The eBay offer is the clearest evidence yet of just how much its self-image has changed. Whether this is a strategic calculation or simply delusions of grandeur remains to be seen. At any rate, the company is profitable again. Thanks to aggressive cost-cutting measures, including global store closures, and a successful pivot toward fan merchandise and collectibles, the Texas-based company is posting solid profits. In the first quarter, GameStop generated a net income of nearly USD 390 million.

dynaCERT: The Quiet Contender for the Next Rally

According to analysts at GBC Research, the next stock sensation will not require a Reddit frenzy or a short squeeze—just the realization that the diesel engine is far from obsolete. In March 2025, the Augsburg-based research firm issued a "Buy" recommendation on dynaCERT, with a price target of CAD 0.75 (approximately EUR 0.47). At a current share price of about CAD 0.12 (EUR 0.07 on German exchanges), the GBC price target represents upside potential of over 500%. No one at dynaCERT is talking about takeovers by much larger corporations or billion-dollar deals. At the heart of the business model is a diesel retrofit system that reduces fuel consumption and emissions. Kevin Unrath, CEO of the Toronto-based company since April 2026, keeps repeating one word above all others: commercialization. The goal is to turn the many successful pilot projects into production orders, production orders into recurring revenue, and recurring revenue into real profits. Should GBC be proven right with its price target, a GameStop-like price surge would not result from delusions of grandeur or online group dynamics, but, at least according to the theory, from the simple fact that an undervalued company delivers exactly what it promises.

Despite all the efforts of truck manufacturers toward electrification and hydrogen propulsion, it would be naive to believe that the internal combustion engine will disappear overnight. Consequently, we must improve it. The patented HydraGEN™ system generates hydrogen and oxygen on board from distilled water and feeds both into the intake system of diesel engines. The result: more complete combustion, which, according to the company, reduces fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by up to 10%, soot particle emissions by up to 55%, and nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 88%. The key feature is that existing trucks, construction machinery, or generators do not need to be replaced; they only need to be retrofitted. The emissions savings are documented via the HydraLytica™ telematics platform—using a methodology certified by the climate protection organization Verra. This paves the way for trading CO₂ credits, though the company states that this remains a future project for now. The Canadian company's current business is driven solely by sales of its HydraGEN™ units.

Momentum is coming primarily from Asia. Following successfully completed pilot projects, dynaCERT received its first commercial production order from a Vietnamese logistics company; at the same time, HydraGEN™ systems were installed on trucks and container vehicles at one of the country's largest port operators. Vietnam alone has more than 3.5 million commercial vehicles; across Southeast Asia, there are over 10 million medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles. Even a market penetration of just 1% would correspond to around 100,000 installed systems. An additional foothold in Europe: After approximately 26 months of testing by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), with the participation of TÜV Nord, TÜV Süd, and the former Continental subsidiary Emitec, the ABE approval has now been granted, removing a key sales barrier in this country. Whether the theoretical 500% potential actually translates into a share price movement therefore depends on hard facts, not on sentiment in an online forum.

Infineon: The Classic Among Comeback Stocks

Hardly any other company serves as such a good blueprint for price surges in former penny stocks as Infineon. During the financial crisis, today's DAX giant was indeed on the brink of collapse. The trigger was its own memory-chip subsidiary, Qimonda, which was spun off in 2006 and forced to file for bankruptcy in January 2009—despite a EUR 325 million cash injection from the German government and a subsequent request for an additional EUR 300 million bailout package. The bankruptcy dragged Infineon down with it. In February 2009, the Executive Board wanted to ask shareholders for a capital increase of up to EUR 450 million, but by then the share price had already slipped below the required threshold of EUR 1. By the end of March 2009, the stock was trading at just EUR 0.35—Infineon was considered one of the most prominent candidates for bankruptcy during the financial crisis. The rescue was achieved in the summer of 2009 through a capital raise in which the US private equity firm Apollo invested. As early as September 2009, the stock returned to the DAX.

Today, the company is in excellent shape—and at the same time serves as an example that even a successful comeback does not shield a company from new uncertainties. In the first half of the current fiscal year 2025/2026, Infineon generated revenue of EUR 7.31 billion, a net profit of EUR 557 million, and free cash flow of EUR 288 million. For the full year, further revenue growth and an adjusted free cash flow of around EUR 1.65 billion are expected—driven primarily by the AI business centred on power supplies for data centers. Third-quarter results will be released on August 5. Then we will see where the journey takes us. From early April to early June, the share price rose from under EUR 40 to nearly EUR 90, before the ongoing correction in semiconductor stocks caused a pullback to its current level of EUR 64.10.

However, since the start of the semiconductor rally, the stock is still up by around 60%. Analysts' price targets are unusually wide apart: UBS sees the fair value at just EUR 61 due to risks related to AI market share and in China, while Deutsche Bank (EUR 90), Jefferies (EUR 96), and Bank of America (EUR 108) see significant upside potential. A comparison with 2009 shows that the company that was once a candidate for bankruptcy has become one where the debate is no longer about its very survival, but only about the exact extent of its success.

Three Different Variations of the Same Pattern

GameStop demonstrates just how explosive a comeback can be when online outrage collides with an extreme short squeeze—and how quickly triumph over the hedge funds can lead to reaching for the stars, even though success is far from certain. Consequently, most analysts' price targets lie below the current share price of just under USD 22. Infineon represents the other end of the spectrum: a company on the brink of bankruptcy that has completely turned things around. Even though analysts' price targets vary widely, the majority of experts believe the stock has significant potential. Investors who buy in here are no longer betting on a resurrection, but rather on the continuation of a turnaround that was successfully completed long ago. In contrast, dynaCERT is still a micro-cap company with a correspondingly thin revenue base, but it stands on the threshold of commercial success. The Canadian company's capital measures seem modest compared to the other two stocks in the trio. To finance its Vietnam operations, a private placement of CAD 5 million in convertible bonds bearing 6% interest was completed at the end of June. GBC Research expects earnings of CAD 0.01 per share for the current year—at the current price, that represents a P/E ratio of around 12, which would be a bargain compared to GameStop at 31, or Infineon at 36. However, those companies have already seen their share prices surge.