GoPro stock surged 46 percent in regular trading Monday and another 55 percent after hours, a combined gain of more than 128 percent, after Bloomberg reported that YouTube creator Mark Fischbach, known as Markiplier, had acquired an 8.5 percent stake in the action camera company through an August 20 SEC filing.
Trading volume hit 162 million shares, approximately 20 times the recent daily average. His 13.5 million Class A shares were valued at approximately $18 million at Monday's closing price.
Markiplier is the 37-year-old creator behind a YouTube channel with more than 40 million subscribers who made the film Iron Lung, which grossed $51 million from a $3 million budget, and has spoken about wanting to make professional filmmaking more accessible for online creators.
He said he considers GoPro undervalued and changed his opinion on the company's cameras after trying its new Mission 1 Pro ILS.
The context that makes this surreal: GoPro's Q2 revenue was $105 million, down 31 percent year over year.
Camera unit sales fell 38 percent. The company has laid off 23 percent of its workforce this year. Management's own filings include "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a going concern.
The stock was trading below $0.60 before Monday. It ended the day at $0.88. After hours it hit $1.36.
A YouTuber liked their camera. The market responded accordingly.