Keith Gill's US$116m GameStop position sparks a 100% surge, boosting other meme stocks too
GameStop Corp. shares more than doubled after Keith Gill, known as DeepF— Value on Reddit, posted about a US$116m position in the game retailer.
The Financial Post reported that Gill's June 2 screenshot shows five million shares bought at US$21.27 each. This was his first post in three years.
The screenshot also included 120,000 call options worth US$65.7m, due to expire on June 21. The options would allow him to buy the stock at US$20 per share.
GameStop shares increased by as much as 105 percent in premarket trading on Monday before reducing some gains. If premarket gains hold, the stock could add about US$8bn to its market capitalization.
Other stocks popular with retail traders also experienced a boost. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. rose by as much as 36 percent in premarket trading, while SunPower Corp., Beyond Meat Inc., BlackBerry Ltd., and Reddit Inc. also saw increases.
Gill, using his handle “Roaring Kitty” on social media platform X, posted an image of an UNO reverse card.
— Roaring Kitty (@TheRoaringKitty) June 3, 2024
This card is used in the game to change the card-pickup direction. The post received about more than 10.7 million since its publication at about 8 pm Sunday New York time.
“Recent renewed interest in meme stocks, coming as the main US indices struggle to make new highs, is a sign of excessive over-exuberance and is more likely a negative portent given the rising headwinds in the markets,” said Robert Lea, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst.
Gill had largely been silent on social media since 2021, when he rallied day-traders on Reddit to buy the stock to counter short sellers. He argued that the company was poised to “reinvent” itself as a premier gaming hub.
In mid-May, Gill returned to X with an image of a video gamer leaning in, fueling anticipation of his active return to the market. GameStop shares have fallen more than 50 percent since a two-day rally triggered by his mid-May post.
The stock soared more than 2,000 percent in early 2021, bringing meme-stock frenzy into the public eye.
In his last previous Reddit post on April 16, 2021, Gill shared a screenshot showing he held 200,000 GameStop shares, valued at about US$30.9m at the time.
Gill posted his latest update on the r/Superstonk subforum on Reddit, described as “a place for theoretical discussions about GameStop stock.”
