The sudden explosion of GameStop's stock gave trading apps like Robinhood their best-ever user numbers
- GameStop stock value has skyrocketed in the last week, largely driven by a grassroots Reddit campaign.
- As the stock has jumped in value, people have swarmed to stock trading apps like Robinhood.
- Robinhood had its biggest day ever on Wednesday, according to Apptopia, and it was ranked in the top spot in Apple's App Store.
Between January 20 and January 26, GameStop's stock value leaped from just over $35 per share to north of $140 per share. By January 27, it hit new highs of over $325 per share - an over 8,000% increase from just a few months earlier.
Those increases were driven largely by a grassroots campaign on a Reddit forum dedicated to stock trading - r/WallStreetBets - which rallied its over 2 million users to bid up the price of GameStop's stock.
Many of those users turned to consumer-friendly stock trading apps like Robinhood, which saw its best-ever user numbers and downloads on Thursday. The app was ranked first on Apple's iPhone and iPad App Store, and had its biggest day ever on Thursday in terms of both downloads and users, according to smartphone analytics firm Apptopia.
With over 120,000 downloads on Thursday alone, Robinhood tripled its daily download numbers from just a few weeks ago, according to Apptopia.
Similarly, engagement was up for the TD Ameritrade app, the Webull app, and the E-Trade app - a trio of competitors to Robinhood in the consumer-friendly stock trading market.
On Thursday morning, Robinhood pulled the ability for users to trade GameStop, "amid significant market volatility." The restriction was applied to a handful of companies, including GameStop, AMC, BlackBerry, Bed Bath & Beyond, Express, Koss, Naked Brand, and Nokia.
Got a tip? Contact Business Insider senior correspondent Ben Gilbert via email (bgilbert@businessinsider.com) or Twitter DM (@realbengilbert). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a nonwork device to reach out. PR pitches by email only, please.