Shares of GameStop were soaring in markets early Monday, following speculation that the man at the center of the memetic stock craze during the pandemic owns a large number of shares of the video game retailer, which could be worth millions.
Shares of GameStop closed up 21% at US$28, after surging above $40 just after markets opened.
Keith Gill, better known as “Roaring Kitty” on social media platforms YouTube and X, also goes by the name DeepFuckingValue on Reddit. On Sunday evening, this Reddit account shared a screenshot on the r/SuperStonk forum that some believe may be an image of the shares and call options that Keith Gill holds in GameStop.
The image shows that Keith Gill could own 5 million shares of GameStop, worth US$115.7 million at Friday’s closing price. The screenshot also shows 120,000 call options in GameStop with a $20 strike price that expires on June 21. The call options were purchased at approximately $5.68 apiece.
“Change of meaning”?
Additionally, Keith Gill’s X account posted a photo of a “change direction” card from the popular game Uno on Sunday evening. No text accompanied the image.
This latest activity comes about three weeks after Keith Gill appeared online for the first time in three years, driving up the price of GameStop at the time. In May, the “Roaring Kitty” account posted an image on X of a man sitting forward in his chair, a meme used by gamers when things get serious.
The post about FYI, here is a quick 4 minute video I made to summarize the $GME pitch.”
GameStop was a video game retailer in 2021 that was struggling to survive as consumers quickly switched from discs to digital downloads. Large Wall Street hedge funds and major investors were betting against the retailer, or selling its shares short, believing that its shares would continue on a drastic downward trend.
Keith Gill and those who agreed with him changed the trajectory of a company that seemed headed for bankruptcy by buying back thousands of GameStop shares, defying almost every accepted metric that told investors the company was in serious difficulty.
That triggered what’s known as a “short squeeze,” as large investors who had bet against GameStop were forced to buy its rapidly rising shares to offset their massive losses.
The story of Roaring Kitty and the stock meme craze was the subject of a film last year, called Dumb Money.
Other entities joining the meme wave Monday included movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings, whose stock was up 11%.