Keith Gill, known as “Roaring Kitty” online, testified at the House Financial Services Committee’s virtual hearing on GameStop on February 18, 2021. The first online post sent GameStop sharply higher.
House Financial Services Committee via AP/House Financial Services Committee
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House Financial Services Committee via AP/House Financial Services Committee
Keith Gill, known as “Roaring Kitty” online, testified at the House Financial Services Committee’s virtual hearing on GameStop on February 18, 2021. The first online post sent GameStop sharply higher.
House Financial Services Committee via AP/House Financial Services Committee
Shares of video game retailer GameStop soared 118% on Monday after meme stock investor “Roaring Kitty” posted a cryptic image on X, his first post on the online platform in three years.
Roaring Kitty, who became one of the key drivers of 2021 rallies for GameStop and other companies including movie theater chain AMC, posted a photo of a man leaning forward while holding a game controller.
The image has been called a meme and shows that things are starting to get “serious”. This is the first post on X since June 2021 by Keith Gill, who goes by the screen name Roaring Kitty.
Trading in GameStop stock was halted multiple times, a sign of just how frantic trading activity was in the stock. Shares were up more than 60% by early afternoon.
For many investors, it’s reminiscent of the meme stock mania that gripped markets in 2021, when the pandemic left many people around the world stuck at home.
GameStop has already seen some rebound this month: shares were up 57% this month through the end of last week, and shares were rising again on Monday.
“a form of entertainment”
Keith Gill, or “Roaring Kitty,” played a major role in starting the meme stock craze about three years ago.
Gill previously worked for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and later became a day trader. During the pandemic, he and other amateur investors banded together in Reddit groups such as Wallstreetbets to buy shares in companies such as GameStop, AMC and retailer Bed Bath & Beyond, confusing professional investors on Wall Street.
These amateur investors typically buy shares in companies that are bets on by professional investors.
Professor James Angell, a finance professor at Georgetown University, warned amateur investors of the risks of meme stocks, calling them “a form of entertainment.”
Angell added that meme stocks tend to consist of companies that are “in a lot of trouble and often very volatile.”
GameStop has seen sales decline as more people turn to online gaming and is trying to turn things around.
The retailer continues to focus on increasing online sales and cutting costs.
