Keith “Roaring Kitty” Gill returns to social media, igniting a massive rally in meme stocks and causing significant losses for short sellers. With his potential to disrupt Wall Street just beginning, retail investors are bracing for more excitement.
- Keith Gill’s mysterious meme videos sparked a rally in GameStop and AMC stocks, drastically increasing their market caps in just two trading sessions.
- The surge led to substantial financial losses for short sellers, with GameStop short sellers losing over $2 billion and AMC short sellers nearly $400 million.
- Roaring Kitty continues to symbolize the power of online communities, transparency, and the potential for collective action to disrupt traditional financial institutions.
Source: YouTube
Wall Street Meets “Roaring Kitty” Once Again
Keith “Roaring Kitty” Gill is back on social media. The former protagonist of GameStop’s (NYSE: GME) massive meme stock rally tweeted eleven times on May 13, sharing mysterious, meme-like videos that triggered massive investor euphoria. This excitement caused the main 2021 meme stocks to rally at levels not seen in the past three years.
For those unfamiliar with the events from about four years ago, Keith Gill, known on YouTube as “Roaring Kitty” and on Reddit as “DeepF-ingValue,” was a key player in GameStop’s big share-price surge between 2020 and 2021. Gill initially bought his position in the video game retailer in June 2019 via call options and expanded his GME holdings over the following year.
At the time, Gill’s investment thesis was based on his belief that the market was underestimating GameStop’s growth potential while overestimating the likelihood of the company going bankrupt. In 2019, GameStop sales were already showing signs of weak demand, and many traders saw the company as a potential short-selling target. Gill was also influenced by Michael “Big Short” Burry’s bullish stance on the company, as Burry acquired a stake in 2019 based on its discounted valuation.
The meme stock craze eventually led to a court investigation into possible conflicts of interest during this unusual moment in the stock market. Gill’s famous declaration of “liking the stock,” highlighted in his testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, continues to inspire numerous retail investors.
After the episode, it was concluded that Gill’s participation did not indicate market manipulation. Since then, he had disappeared from public life and ceased posting on his social media accounts.
The story of his involvement in the GameStop stock saga became a movie in 2023, with Paul Dano portraying him in “Dumb Money,” released by Sony Pictures.
The Power of a Kitten
Over the years, there has been much speculation about Keith Gill’s activities and whether he still held shares in GameStop.
The latest known information about him is that, as of April 2021, he held a position of 200,000 shares of GME pre-split, following the exercise of 500 call options and the purchase of an additional 50,000 shares. At its peak on January 27, 2021, Gill’s GameStop position was valued at approximately $47.9 million.
On May 9, Gill, under his “Roaring Kitty” persona, liked a post from the Taste of Cinema profile @davidcinema dated February 14 on his X account. This action sparked thousands of theories among AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) and other retail investors, speculating that Gill hinted at something related to the prominent AMC meme stock.
What is the best movie you've ever seen that takes place in real time? pic.twitter.com/LQbZvdvtQF
— Taste of Cinema (@davidcinema) February 14, 2024
Between May 13 and May 14, “Roaring Kitty” made a significant return. So far, he posted 13 mysterious meme videos, causing GameStop stock to jump from a market cap of around $3 billion to as much as $15 billion in two trading sessions. AMC’s market cap also surged from $900 million to $2.8 billion in the same period.
As expected, this high volatility greatly upset Wall Street titans, particularly financially. Data from short interest expert Ihor Dusaniwsky of S3 Partners indicated that GameStop short sellers lost over $2 billion in just two trading sessions, while AMC short sellers lost almost $400 million in the same period.
After being down -$862 million in mark-to-market losses yesterday, $GME shorts are down another -$1.36 billion in mark-to-market losses today. Short interest is $1.92 billion, 63.2 million shares shorted, 23.68% SI % Float. We are seeing continued squeeze related short covering…
— Ihor Dusaniwsky🇺🇦 (@ihors3) May 14, 2024
Also noteworthy were comments from former SEC Chair on the meme stock craze, highlighting the significant impact of these events on the market.
“It bothers me. It bothers me on many levels. It is a lot closer to gambling than it is to trading and certainly not investing. Is a tweet really investment advice? I think we’ve learned over the last five, six, seven years that a tweet is really never investment advice.”
Former SEC Chair Jay Clayton on meme stocks $AMC $GME $BYON craze:
"It bothers me. It bothers me on many levels. It is a lot closer to gambling than it is to trading and certainly not investing.
Is a tweet really investment advice? I think we've learned over the last five, six,… pic.twitter.com/CxEeNosP1X
— Wall Street Trends (@WStreetTrends) May 14, 2024
The Kitten Turned Wall Street’s Worst Nightmare
Roaring Kitty, Keith Gill’s online persona, is a symbol of empowerment and knowledge sharing for retail investors. He makes investing accessible and understandable, embodying the underdog in a David vs. Goliath tale. Gill’s story shows how collective action can shake up institutional investors.
His influence over retail investors proves the power of online communities in fostering solidarity and coordinated efforts. Known for his transparency and authenticity, Roaring Kitty built trust among everyday investors, highlighting both the potential rewards and inherent risks of investing, especially in volatile markets.
Wall Street hedge funds and short sellers are in full-blown panic mode, scrambling to avoid a GameStop 2.0.
The potential of “Roaring Kitty” to disrupt Wall Street is just getting started. If a few meme tweets can trigger this kind of reaction from retail investors, imagine the chaos a public appearance could cause. This kitten could become a beast, turning into a nightmare for anyone betting against meme stocks like GameStop and AMC.
Get ready, Wall Street. This kitty’s claws are sharp, and it seems that he’s just getting warmed up.
(Disclaimers: this is not investment advice. The author may be long one or more stocks mentioned in this report. Also, the article may contain affiliate links. These partnerships do not influence editorial content)
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