Keith Gill, also known as “Roaring Kitty,” reappeared online after three years, sparking a surge in the prices of quirky and volatile meme stocks on Monday.
Gill shared an image on X, a social platform, showing a man leaning forward in his chair—an image commonly used by gamers during intense moments. He followed this with a YouTube video from earlier years where he passionately supported GameStop, a struggling video game retailer in 2021.
During this time, GameStop faced challenges as more consumers shifted to digital downloads over physical discs. Large Wall Street hedge funds were betting against GameStop, expecting its stock to continue declining.
However, Gill and his supporters, against common investor advice, bought large quantities of GameStop shares. This unconventional move triggered a “short squeeze,” where the hedge funds had to buy back GameStop stock at higher prices to cover their losses.
GameStop store (Via Keith Clinton/Shutterstock)
On Monday, GameStop’s shares more than doubled at the opening bell due to Gill’s renewed influence, marking its largest intraday jump since the 2021 meme frenzy. The surge also affected other meme stocks like AMC Theaters.
Due to the rapid price movements, trading in GameStop was paused multiple times on Monday morning to manage volatility.
In 2021, Gill gained widespread attention when his posts on Reddit’s Wallstreetbets community fueled a showdown between small investors and large hedge funds. This battle resulted in significant gains for GameStop, increasing its stock by over 1,000% during the year. AMC Theaters also saw a dramatic rise of 2,300% in a short period.
Notably, big hedge funds like Citron Research and Melvin Capital suffered substantial losses, estimated at $5 billion according to analytics firm S3 Partners, as GameStop’s stock price soared from under $20 to nearly $400 per share.
