GameStop shares surge 119% after Roaring Kitty posts for the first time in 3 years - causing short squeeze that costs hedge funds $1 billion

Roaring Kitty - aka Keith Gill - posted on X on Sunday for the first time in 3 yearsGameStop stock doubled on Monday to its highest level since 2021 AMC stock also surged 33%

The man at the center of the pandemic meme stock craze appeared online for the first time in three years - and sent GameStop shares skyrocketing Monday.

Keith Gill, better known as 'Roaring Kitty,' posted an image on Sunday of a man sitting forward in his chair - a meme used by gamers when things are getting serious.

The stock rose by an astonishing 119 percent at one point on Monday, and caused losses of $1 billion for so-called short sellers who have been continued to bet the video game retailer will go bankrupt.

It was a throwback to 2021 when GameStop hit the headlines for a 'short squeeze' on its stock.  Back then, it was a video game retailer struggling to survive as consumers switched rapidly from discs to digital downloads.

Big Wall Street hedge funds were betting against it, or shorting its stock - expecting it to go bankrupt. But Gill and his fans disagreed and bought up millions of GameStop shares.

That began what is known as a 'short squeeze,' when those big investors that had bet against GameStop were forced to buy its rapidly rising stock to offset their massive losses.

At Monday's opening bell it appeared that Gill had reignited that phenomenon as shares of GameStop more than doubled from Friday's close of $17.46.

Keith Gill aka 'Roaring Kitty' talks about Gamestop and other stocks on his YouTube channel - back in 2021. On Monday he tweeted for the first time in three years, and Gamestock stock jumped as much as 100 percent

Keith Gill aka 'Roaring Kitty' talks about Gamestop and other stocks on his YouTube channel - back in 2021. On Monday he tweeted for the first time in three years, and Gamestock stock jumped as much as 100 percent

Keith Gill, better known as 'Roaring Kitty,' posted an image on Sunday of a man sitting forward in his chair. It is a meme used by gamers when things are getting serious

Keith Gill, better known as 'Roaring Kitty,' posted an image on Sunday of a man sitting forward in his chair. It is a meme used by gamers when things are getting serious

GameStop stock surged Monday - hitting its highet level in 18 months

GameStop stock surged Monday - hitting its highet level in 18 months

They hit an 18-month high of $38.20 and even after slipping slightly they were trading 67 percent higher at 1.30pm.

'Expect short covering in this stock' said Ihor Dusaniwsky, from data firm S3 Partners.

He said that just an hour into trading Monday, short selling hedge funds had lost $1 billion - on paper at least.

It's the biggest intraday trading jump for GameStop since the meme craze in 2021. Other meme stocks like the theater chain AMC were jolted higher as well.

Gill became a hero for smaller retail investors in 2021 on the back of his posts on the Reddit subcategory Wallstreetbets. The posts ignited a David vs. Goliath battle with large hedge funds that were betting heavily against the survival of GameStop, shorting its stock. 

Read More

Stock prices have slumped, hitting 401(k)s - an investment expert from Bank of America explains what will happen next

article image

The small guys won, at least for a while, driving shares of GameStop up more than 1,000 percent in 2021, and other meme stocks as well. The struggling movie theater chain AMC jumped 2,30 percent in the same year.

And some big traders lost billions.

Citron Research, Melvin Capital and other well-known hedge funds lost an estimated $5 billion on the other side of the trade in 2021, according to analytics firm S3 Partners.

Gill and other investors in GameStop were betting, in part, on the ability of Ryan Cohen, co-founder of Chewy.com, to push the traditional retailer in a more online direction.

Cohen built up a stake in GameStop before eventually joining the board and last year becoming its CEO.

Yet it wasn't only GameStop that caught fire Monday. Some of the same meme stocks that recorded astronomical gains back in 2021 surged as well.

AMC leapt 33 per cent. Koss, a headphone manufacturer, spiked 25% and BlackBerry, the one time dominant smartphone maker, rose 7%. The retailer Bed, Bath & Beyond, another meme stock, sought bankruptcy protection last year.

However, some meme stocks including GameStop and AMC had already been climbing higher earlier this month, and rapidly.

Shares of GameStop, which have faded steadily since 2021, had risen 57 percent this month. In January, GameStop reported its first annual profit since 2018, although it´s still unclear if Cohen´s turnaround plan will succeed.

AMC had risen 10 percent over the past 30 days.

Chart shows GameStop stock price over five days

Chart shows GameStop stock price over five days

The story of Roaring Kitty was made into a movie. This image released by Sony Pictures shows Paul Dano as Keith Gill in a scene from 'Dumb Money'

The story of Roaring Kitty was made into a movie. This image released by Sony Pictures shows Paul Dano as Keith Gill in a scene from 'Dumb Money'

Gill reaped a big profit investing in a troubled video-game company, but denied when he appeared virtually at a Congressional hearing that he used social media to drive up GameStop's stock price.

He told lawmakers at the time simply: 'I like the stock.'

As Roaring Kitty, Gill vanished from messaging boards after posting a video in June 2021 of kittens going to sleep.

The story of Roaring Kitty and the meme stock craze was turned into a movie last year called 'Dumb Money.'

OTHER NEWS

22 minutes ago

England vs Serbia referee had 'disaster' at World Cup which led to Lionel Messi glory

22 minutes ago

Hynes axed as new-look Blues squad confirmed

22 minutes ago

England vs Serbia: Date, kick-off time and TV channel for Euro 2024 group-stage game

22 minutes ago

Is Poland v Netherlands on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch Euro 2024 match today

22 minutes ago

As Boeing looks to buy a key 737 supplier, a whistleblower says the problems run deep

22 minutes ago

A Swiss museum will remove 5 paintings potentially looted by Nazis

24 minutes ago

UK Conservatives getting ‘smashed’ in the polls

30 minutes ago

GT Aston Martin Exits Le Mans In a Dramatic Rollover Crash

30 minutes ago

Fernando Alonso knows the moment it will be ‘bye bye’ from F1 for good

36 minutes ago

The Tory manifesto raises more questions than answers – here are 20 of the biggest

36 minutes ago

'This film is about a survivor': Alicia Vikander on playing Katherine Parr

36 minutes ago

Controversial finish in Collingwood and North Melbourne game, as Bobby Hill takes MOTY contender, and Giants down Power

36 minutes ago

THR Frontrunners Q&A With the Cast and Creators of 'Young Sheldon' | THR Video

36 minutes ago

'We'll hunt you': Trump, MAGA supporters' violent rhetoric isn't a glitch. It's a feature.

36 minutes ago

The big lie: why taxes are going up (no matter what the Tories or Labour say)

36 minutes ago

‘Star of the show’: DeChambeau firmly in driver’s seat to win second U.S. Open

36 minutes ago

‘Keep the coaches, change entire team’: Wasim Akram wants all players of Babar Azam-led Pakistan squad dropped

36 minutes ago

Donald Trump challenges Joe Biden to cognitive test but then forgets name of his own doctor

36 minutes ago

Lady Elliot Island boat capsize: Desperate search for missing man after boat overturned ends in tragedy off Queensland coast near Bundaberg after Life Flight winched a father and son to safety

39 minutes ago

Ashley Graham debuts children's book encouraging self-love, confidence

43 minutes ago

Video: Hundreds of Majorcans take over tiny picture postcard cove made famous by Instagram 'influencers' and unfurl banners reading 'SOS Residents' amid Spanish island's anti-tourism backlash against UK holidaymakers

43 minutes ago

Ukraine proves it can target the Russian air force's weakest link

43 minutes ago

Canada cricketers miss out on marquee matchup with India due to wet ground conditions

43 minutes ago

Luai praised as Origin awaits

43 minutes ago

'Good to go': Edwards, Luai shine in final NSW audition

43 minutes ago

Down 10% in a week! What’s wrong with the Legal & General Group share price?

43 minutes ago

Gary Neville hammered after naming England XI Southgate MUST pick for Euro 2024 opener

43 minutes ago

'Prison-cell' flat that costs £475 a month is like a sit-com set

43 minutes ago

Ox Nche makes the cut as Bulls dominate URC Team of the Season

43 minutes ago

Israel announces ‘pause’ along southern Gaza route to allow in aid but no let up in Rafah offensive

47 minutes ago

Thorpe Park’s Hyperia rollercoaster breaks down again leaving thrillseekers hanging at 236ft

48 minutes ago

Woman who spent 43 years behind bars has murder conviction overturned

48 minutes ago

"Pogacar seems unbeatable, so we must aim for stage victories": What can EF-boys Powless and Van den Berg pull off in the Tour?

48 minutes ago

Samantha Murphy: Cop makes bleak admission about the endless search for missing Ballarat mum after discovery by a dam renewed hopes of finding her body

48 minutes ago

Video: Married At First Sight's Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli's one-year-old son Lucius shares first words

48 minutes ago

Video: All the best videos from Trooping the Colour: Kate's great comeback, glimpses behind the scenes and Charlotte and Louis acting up

53 minutes ago

Sex attacker dubbed 'Coronation Street rapist' launches NEW parole bid - despite breaking rules when he was last released from jail

53 minutes ago

Jobless man, 60, who still lives with his mother smashed woman's windscreen with his fists in fit of rage after she turned her car around in his driveway

53 minutes ago

From AI-powered limb-tracking to a match ball with a chip inside: The futuristic technologies powering Euro 2024 in Germany this month, revealed

53 minutes ago

NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope captures closest super star cluster to Earth (image)