GameStop gains as Roaring Kitty reveals bet in Reddit post
GameStop shares jumped 21% on Monday after the stocks influencer known as “Roaring Kitty” returned to Reddit with a post showing a $116 million bet on the embattled videogame retailer.
Shares of GameStop closed at $28 after surging as much as 75% during the session. Some $4.7 billion worth of GameStop shares had changed hands as of the market’s close, making it the most heavily traded stock on the NYSE, according to LSEG data.
The post was the first in three years by Keith Gill, the Roaring Kitty stocks influencer behind the 2021 retail trading frenzy, from his Reddit account. In 2021, screenshots on Reddit of his bullish GameStop trades triggered a rush of demand for “meme stocks” – often companies with weak fundamentals that gained a cult-like following through social media hype among retail traders.
The screenshot posted on Sunday showed a GameStop holding of 5 million shares, or 1.8% of its publicly available stock. Gill’s last post from April 2021, titled “final update,” showed a holding of 200,000 shares worth $30.9 million.
Reuters could not verify the screenshot on Reddit, and Gill did not respond to a request for comment on Reddit or email.
Roaring Kitty’s Reddit account, in a post after the close of regular trading on Monday, disclosed that he continues to hold on to his 5 million shares and 120,000 call options. The value of the position jumped to $260 million, up $78.6 million from the previous session.
Sunday’s post also revealed $65.7 million worth of call options expiring on June 21 at a strike price of $20.
The stock wrapped up a volatile month on Friday, closing at $23.14, about 33% higher since Gill began sharing cryptic posts and memes from his “Roaring Kitty” account on X in May, sparking speculation over whether he would resume sharing his trades online after the hiatus.
Monday’s surge put GameStop short sellers on track to rack up nearly $1 billion in paper losses, according to data and analytics firm Ortex Technologies. The short position in GameStop stood at 57.6 million shares, or 18.4% of the outstanding shares, Ortex data showed. That compares to 162% in 2021, when the stock had its initial rally.
