Avaya Holdings becomes r/WallStreetBets’ latest endeavor

r/WallStreetBets loves many things: (near) bankrupt companies, stocks with high short-interest and Ryan Cohen Jake Freeman.

Their latest position of interest — Avaya Holdings (NYSE:AVYA) — fits the first two criteria.

• Bankruptcy — analysts have been forecasting Avaya to run out of cash with a potential bankruptcy incoming.
• Short-interest — the percentage of shares sold short — is at 28%.

Avaya sells software for corporate phone networks and customer call centers. In August, they reported earnings and forecasts that fell far from expectations.

To survive, Avaya borrowed $600M — warning that there is “substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern” — a.k.a. we might not make it (PWC).

Avaya has been here before — filing for bankruptcy in 2017 as it struggled to transition to cloud services.

The latest meme hero: “The King”

In August, Theo King — co-founder of Faria Education Group and successful software entrepreneur — bought a 15.41% stake in Avaya. This sent $AVYA soaring in the past month — closing at $2.01 yesterday from a low of $0.60 in August.

The King presented a turnaround strategy to Avaya’s board — saying:

• The company is in the early innings of turning around its business, and that bankruptcy isn’t certain.
• There are options besides bankruptcy, including finding a strategic partner and restructuring loans due next year.

Still, analysts are doubtful. Avaya hasn’t had a strong track record, is facing competition from better cloud products and carries a big financial burden.

But everyone is in it for the gains. In the August rally, Ryan Cohen dumped his Bed Bath & Beyond shares, and so did Jake Freeman. What’s to say Theo King won’t do the same?