The stock of GameStop (GME) experienced a significant surge of over 70% as the resurgence of “Roaring Kitty,” the individual credited with igniting the meme stock frenzy, sparked excitement among investors. This led to multiple halts in trading due to the high volatility of the stock. GameStop’s shares reached a peak of $30 per share on Monday, closing the day with a 75% increase. Over the past two weeks, the stock has been steadily rising, with a growth of approximately 60%.
“Roaring Kitty,” whose real name is Keith Gill, gained prominence on the WallStreetBets subreddit and YouTube for his optimistic outlook on GameStop (GME). In a recent post on X (formerly known as Twitter), he shared a meme depicting a video gamer intensely focused on the game. This post garnered over 81,000 likes and 9,000 comments, marking his first online appearance since June 2021. Gill was known for his commentary on why GameStop’s stock would rise and even testified before Congress about the massive short squeeze orchestrated by a group of retail traders in January 2021.
According to S3 Partners data, GameStop has a short interest of around 24% of its float. Ihor Dusaniwsky, the managing director of S3 Partners, stated that GME shorts have incurred losses of -$1.34 billion for the month of May and -$952 million for the year.
This short squeeze on Monday follows a recent rally in meme-related stocks. AMC, the theater chain operator, experienced a gain of up to 50% during the trading session, while Trump Media & Technology saw an 8% increase.
Dusaniwsky cautioned that short sellers should be prepared for a turbulent and potentially damaging ride with these stocks.
According to Jared Blikre of Yahoo Finance, the recent surge in meme stocks doesn’t seem to carry the same negative implications as in the past. Instead, it reflects a positive and robust willingness to take risks in investment.