FOX Business senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino questioned the timing of Roaring Kitty’s live stream on “The Cramer Countdown” and the GameStop secondary sale.
Meme stock trader Keith Gill, aka “Roaring Kitty,” went live on Friday for the first time in three years but failed to entice investors into GameStop as the company’s shares plummeted 40%.
Video game retailer GameStop Corp.’s shares plummeted after the company announced a stock sale to raise up to $3 billion. Meanwhile, in a YouTube livestream, Gill urged a crowd of about 600,000 viewers to bet on CEO Ryan Cohen and “his team,” joking about the meme and warning that retail investors could “lose everything.”
“His aggressive investing style is probably not right for you,” Gill said.
| Ticker | safety | last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| global | GameStop Corp. | 28.24 | -18.18 | -39.16% |
| NVDA | NVIDIA Inc. | 1,208.88 | -1.10 | -0.09% |
| AAPL | Apple. | 196.89 | +2.41 | +1.24% |
| AMC | AMC Entertainment | 4.90 | -0.87 | -15.15% |
GameStop reported quarterly earnings on Friday, four days ahead of schedule, and shares soared 50% before Gill posted about the upcoming livestream.
‘Roaring Kitty’ says GameStop profits from ‘Ryan Cohen and crew’
Traders trade under a GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) sign on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, on August 8, 2022. (Reuters/Andrew Kelly/Reuters Photo)
The volatile movements of GameStop, AMC Entertainment and other Reddit-popular stocks suggest that individual investors remain highly willing to take risks on struggling companies — investments inspired by nostalgia and internet jokes rather than good business sense.
“I’ll post a few memes, I’ll post a few screenshots, and people will go nuts,” Gill, wearing a headband and white sunglasses, said in a livestream.
GameStop closed at $28.22 after trading was halted several times before and during the highly anticipated live stream.
Investors bought and sold $10 billion worth of GameStop shares, more than any other stock on Wall Street except Nvidia and Apple, according to LSEG data reported by Reuters.
GameStop shares volatile after earnings release and ahead of “Roaring Kitty” livestream
In this illustration, taken on February 2, 2021, the GameStop logo is seen in front of the displayed Reddit logo. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters Photo)
Gill believes Cohen has put GameStop through a “transformative phase,” but expressed confidence in his ability to lead the company out of it.
“I can’t promise you anything, but I think in the long run, that’s the type of guy he is,” he said. “He seems to have those traits in how he approaches the job, so maybe he can do it, but again, it’s not a guarantee.”
Mr. Gill’s defense of GameStop Corp., which helped send the company’s shares soaring 1,600% in 2021 before plummeting, made him an internet hero to some and a nuisance to others on Wall Street.
“This is how he operates. He discusses fundamentals, likes stocks, posts memes, drinks and rambles,” Reddit user Steve Rogers7 commented after Gill’s livestream. “You want him to tell you to buy GME? It’s not going to happen, just stay bummed.”
GameStop shares surge after ‘barking kitten’ post
Keith Gill, known on Reddit by the pseudonyms DeepFuckingValue and Roaring Kitty, is seen in one part of the YouTube video displayed on a smartphone screen in front of the GameStop logo. (Pablo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
In its report on Friday, GameStop reported first-quarter net sales of $881.8 million and a net loss of $32.3 million, the former down 28.7% from the same period a year ago and the latter an improvement.
The retailer reported having $1.083 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.
The company also said it would sell up to 75 million shares to raise capital, but did not say when the sale would take place.
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Last month, GameStop said it had sold 45 million shares, reaping more than $900 million in profits, after investor enthusiasm sent the meme stock soaring.
“Retail investors are a growing force and are participating in the discussion like never before. These investors are now truly at the table and public companies need to pay due attention to the influence they have,” Don Montanaro, president of discount brokerage Fastrade, told Reuters.
Reuters contributed to this report.
