GameStop tanks almost 40% as ‘Roaring Kitty’ fails to spark enthusiasm
Stock influencer Keith Gill’s first livestream in three years failed to spark enough investor enthusiasm in GameStop on Friday to reverse a nearly 40% slump in the shopping mall retailer’s stock after it unveiled a share sale to raise up to $3 billion.
On a livestream with more than 600,000 viewers, Gill, the key figure behind an eye-popping rally in the struggling company’s stock in 2021, joked about memes and interspersed his discussion of GameStop with various disclaimers.
Known on YouTube as “Roaring Kitty,” he warned viewers they could “lose it all” and that his “aggressive style of investing, it is almost certainly not suitable for you all.”
Shares of GameStop, which also reported its quarterly results four days ahead of schedule on Friday, shot up nearly 50% the day before after Gill posted about the upcoming livestream.
Volatile trading in GameStop, AMC Entertainment and other stocks since Gill’s return to social media last month shows some investors still have appetite for risky trades on struggling companies.
“You post a couple of memes, you post a couple of screenshots, and everyone loses their minds,” Gill said on the livestream, wearing a headband and white sunglasses.
The stock ended at $28.22 after it was halted several times ahead of and during the much-anticipated livestream.
Investors exchanged $10 billion worth of GameStop shares, more than any other stock on Wall Street, except Nvidia and Apple , according to LSEG data.
Gill also said he was confident in GameStop’s billionaire CEO Ryan Cohen.
“I believe this guy,” he said about Cohen. “It’s kind of based on feeling.”
GameStop is “right-sizing” the ship and cutting costs to stabilize the legacy business and “now it’s all about the transformation,” he said.
“This is what he does. He discusses the fundamentals, he likes the stock, he memes, he drinks, he rambles,” user SteveRogers 7 commented on Reddit after Gill’s livestream. “You want him to tell you to go and pump GME? That is not gonna happen, stay disappointed.”
The company earlier said it would sell up to 75 million shares, but did not respond to a request for more details on the timing of the capital raise.
In 2021, Gill’s championing of GameStop helped its shares rally by as much as 1,600% before they tumbled. He won a cult-like following among some investors and notoriety with others.
