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Market Analysis
GameStop Stock Surges Premarket as Keith Gill Returns to X After 3 Years
Keith Gill, known as 'Roaring Kitty,' returns to X after a three-year hiatus. His re-emergence has coincided with a surge in GameStop's stock price.
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Keith Gill, the enigmatic figure known as ‘Roaring Kitty’ on X (when it was formerly Twitter) and for running a Reddit account that was at the center of the GameStop short squeeze in 2021, has made a return to the social media platform X after a three-year hiatus.
— Roaring Kitty (@TheRoaringKitty) May 13, 2024
His reappearance has coincided with a substantial surge in GameStop’s (NYSE: GME) stock price, a reminder of the meme stock frenzy he was instrumental in sparking during the pandemic.
The stock was up an impressive 16% in premarket trading at the time of writing, a clear sign of the impact of Gill’s return.
GameStop Stock Price Soars in Premarket Trading
Following Gill’s reemergence on social media, GameStop’s stock experienced a notable 22% increase in premarket trading. At the close of the market on Friday, the stock was trading at $17.46, down 3.05% from the previous day.
However, the premarket surge saw the stock climb to $20.36, representing a more than 16% rise from Friday’s closing price. At the time of writing, GameStop shares are trading at $20.35, gaining over 16% during the session.
Revisiting the GameStop Short Squeeze of 2021
In January 2021, GameStop was the center of a remarkable short squeeze that captured the financial world’s attention.
At the time, approximately 140% of the company’s public float was sold short, setting the stage for an unprecedented surge in stock prices as short sellers scrambled to cover their positions.
Driven by the coordinated efforts of individual investors on the subreddit r/wallstreetbets, the squeeze propelled GameStop’s stock to a pre-market peak exceeding $500 per share in January 2021, a staggering 30-fold increase from its valuation at the beginning of the month.
The short squeeze had far-reaching consequences, significantly impacting hedge funds and other short sellers who had bet against the struggling video game retailer. The event highlighted the power of retail investors and the influence of social media in shaping market dynamics, challenging traditional assumptions about investing and the role of individual traders in the financial landscape.
The return of ‘Roaring Kitty’ has reignited interest in the meme stock phenomenon and raised questions about the potential for another wave of retail investor-driven market disruption.
Can we see another 2021 short squeeze play out in the near future? Let us know in the comments below.
Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article.
Tim Fries
Tim Fries is the cofounder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate on the investment team at RW Baird's US Private Equity division, and is also the co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.
