GameStop shares soared on Monday after the long-dormant Reddit account associated with Keith Gill, the trader known as Roaring Kitty who helped spur 2021’s meme stock mania, appeared to show heavy participation at the video game retailer.
It was GameStop’s second big rally in as many months, apparently fueled by rumors on social media. Shares more than doubled at one point in premarket trading, before stabilizing at a gain of about 70 percent, a move that added billions of dollars to the company’s market value.
Monday’s surge was fueled by a screenshot uploaded to Reddit on Sunday by the account associated with Gill, after more than three years of inactivity. The post showed ownership of five million GameStop shares worth just under $116 million, nearly $30 million in cash, and a slew of options that give the holder the right to buy more shares at $20 per share. action. Market data provider Unusual Whales reported that there had been an increase in trading of those options.
Adding fuel to the rally was a post on the X account associated with Mr Gill showing an image of a reversed card from Uno, the card game. Followers largely interpreted the image, in line with the cryptic memes that marked Gill’s social media posts in 2021, as a rallying cry to boost GameStop’s share price, which had fallen after a surge. inspired by Roaring Kitty last month.
GameStop benefited from that rally by selling new shares, raising $933 million. The move “prudently” grants GameStop “a higher level of reserves as it struggles to reorient its business and reverse continued operating losses,” according to a recent research note from Wedbush analysts.
The new posts continue a flurry of activity on Gill’s accounts, which had been silent since 2021. Account X, TheRoaringKitty, resumed posting on May 13, with another cryptic meme largely interpreted as a call for GameStop, followed by dozens of moving clips. from television shows, movies and music videos.
Online sleuths have been debating the reactivation of the accounts since last month, with some speculating that Gill had sold his X account to a concept artist with a history of trolling. While Gill’s X and Reddit accounts have shown signs of life, his YouTube channel (where he regularly posted videos of himself talking about his stock recommendations) remains dormant.
Gill gained a cult following during the coronavirus pandemic with animated videos and posts arguing that GameStop was undervalued. In 2021, that stock and others, like AMC Entertainment, skyrocketed in value as armies of small investors piled in and encouraged each other with irreverent memes. The chaos inspired the 2023 film “Dumb Money.”