GameStop shares soared more than 80% at market open on Monday following the surprise return to social media of day trader Roaring Kitty, who played a key role in 2021’s so-called “meme stock rally.”
Roaring Kitty (real name Keith Gill) posted a popular meme showing a man leaning forward in a chair while holding a video game controller. The meme sparked speculation that Gill might return to public life after not posting online in years.
The meme had been viewed about 11 million times on X and received about 60,000 likes as of 9:30 a.m. ET Monday morning. Mr. Gill did not include a caption or other context.
One user commented on the post: “Hey bro, what do we buy?”
Another user said, “Time to rock cousins,” while posting their own version of the same meme.
GameStop, which has struggled with declining sales for years and has undergone multiple trading suspensions, was trading at $31.70 as of Monday morning. The stock price has increased about 90% since the beginning of the year.
Gill, 37, a former Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance employee, helped spark a frenzy in which retail traders bought stocks of struggling companies such as GameStop and AMC in an effort to squeeze out short sellers. Ta.
GameStop’s value soared more than 2,000% in the first few months of 2021. At one point that year, the stock hit an all-time high of $120.75 in intraday trading.
Aside from his Roaring Kitty nickname, Gill posted on Reddit’s Wall Street Bets forum as “DeepF—kingValue.” Gill’s personal benefit from the rise in meme stocks was not disclosed.
At its peak, however, his GameStop shares were worth nearly $48 million, according to Reuters.
The soaring price of meme stocks famously led to the collapse of Melvin Capital, led by investor Gabe Plotkin, which suffered heavy losses during the short squeeze.
The trend attracted so much scrutiny that Congress held a hearing in February 2021 to assess the situation, with Gill appearing as a leading witness.
“Social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and WallStreetBets on Reddit are leveling the playing field,” Gill said. in written testimony at that time. “And in a year of quarantine and COVID-19, interacting with other investors on social media was a safe way to interact. We had a great time.”
Gil was played by actor Paul Dano in the 2023 film Dumb Money, which tells the story of a meme stock.
