GameStop stock roars back on Monday with help from Roaring Kitty posts

May 13

Simone Del Rosario Business Correspondent

By Simone Del Rosario (Business Correspondent), Brent Jabbour (Senior Producer), Zachary Hill (Editor), Ali Caldwell (Motion Graphic Designer)

The face of 2021’s meme-stock craze is back with a post on X. The single meme sent GameStop’s stock surging, eventually halting trading due to volatility.

Keith Gill, better known as Roaring Kitty on YouTube and social media, returned to the platform previously known as Twitter for the first time in nearly three years Sunday, May 12. His cryptic post of a man playing video games leaning forward in attention sent GameStop’s stock up 40% in pre-market trading.

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As fans woke up to the news of Gill’s return, GameStop shares spiked as much as 110% once markets opened, causing the listing exchange to halt trading.

pic.twitter.com/YgjVqtgcNS
— Roaring Kitty (@TheRoaringKitty) May 13, 2024

Gill later posted multiple meme-laced videos to his X account, including one featuring Thanos from the Avengers films saying, “Fine. I’ll do it myself,” an apparent nod to Gill’s power within the meme-stock community.

pic.twitter.com/bwtNwY4tuP
— Roaring Kitty (@TheRoaringKitty) May 13, 2024

A second video featured a clip from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” possibly suggesting Roaring Kitty’s return may already be over.

pic.twitter.com/XAQ8v5dMlH
— Roaring Kitty (@TheRoaringKitty) May 13, 2024

The meme-stock movement reached its peak in early 2021 as retail traders on Reddit invested in companies like GameStop, AMC and RadioShack. GameStop shares exploded more than 1,000% in January 2021, becoming a cultural phenomenon.

Gill’s affinity for the stock manifested in posts on Reddit and his YouTube channel for months before it made headlines.

The GameStop rally with retail traders in the driver’s seat put a short squeeze on some massive hedge funds like Melvin Capital, which had a huge short position on the gaming retailer. The hedge fund lost 49%the first quarter of 2021 and needed a nearly $3 billion injection to help fight off the squeeze.

The situation culminated in retail trading platform Robinhood limiting trading on GameStop. It eventually resulted in several congressional hearings and the movie “Dumb Money.”

Gill’s most recent post before Sunday was a montage of sleeping kittens. Since posting the cat nap in June 2021, GameStop has had little good news to wake him from his three-year slumber.

GameStop’s stock surged 60% in the first 10 days of May before Gill’s resurgence. Yet the company is still struggling. It reported weak sales for 2023 and laid off an undisclosed number of employees in response.

Simone Del Rosario: Why did this meme cause a single stock to skyrocket?

Any guesses?

Sit up in your gaming chair, it’s the first post in nearly three years from the face of the GameStop meme stock craze.

Keith Gill, AKA Roaring Kitty’s cryptic X post sent the gaming retailer’s stock surging 40% in pre-market trading, then as much as 110% before getting halted for volatility.

It was just the start of Gill’s social media resurgence.

Social media posts: “Fine I’ll do it myself.” “You’re still here? It’s over.”

Simone Del Rosario: Gill’s most recent post before this was a montage of sleeping kittens, signifying he was no longer roaring but taking a tiny cat nap. So what awakened the big cat after a 3-year slumber?

The meme-stock craze reached its height in early 2021 as Reddit retail traders had their way with unusual stock picks.

GameStop shares exploded well over 1,000%, becoming a cultural phenomenon.

And that’s thanks in large part to Gill, who had been touting the stock on Reddit and his YouTube channel for months before the spike.

That rally roiled institutional investors like Melvin Capital, which had a huge short position on GameStop.

The hedge fund lost 49% the first quarter of 2021 and needed a near $3 billion injection of help to battle the Reddit army.

Dumb Money Movie: How much did we make today? 5 million. How much did we lose today? A billion.

Simone Del Rosario: The whole saga spawned the movie “Dumb Money” and multiple congressional hearings.

Keith Gill: A few things I am not: I am not a cat, I am not an institutional investor, nor am I a hedge fund.

Simone Del Rosario: The latest meme Gill posted shows a gamer leaning forward in his chair. Generally, this move signifies increased interest or focus in the game.

GameStop’s stock had surged 60% in the first 10 days of May, before Gill’s post. But are there fundamentals behind the move?

The company as a whole is still struggling. The retailer reported weak sales for 2023 and because of it, laid off an undisclosed number of employees.