Shares of video game retailer-turned-social media phenomena GameStop soared Thursday after Keith Gill, the unofficial commander of the meme stock movement, scheduled his first public appearance since he ignited the GameStop rally with his multimillion-dollar bet on the stock.
Gill owns five million common shares of GameStop and even more in call options, according to ... [+]
Gill’s YouTube channel “Roaring Kitty” scheduled a livestream for 12 p.m. ET Friday, which would be the popular account’s first video since April 2021.
Trading in GameStop stock was briefly halted after the livestream’s scheduling but has since resumed with massive gains, with shares up 30% to over $40 on the day, pacing toward their highest close since May 14, two days after Gill posted on social media for the first time since the 2021 meme stock mania.
It’s of course highly unusual for a scheduled YouTube video from a 37-year-old not directly tied to the company to drive such a significant movement in a stock of a company valued at more than $10 billion, especially since nobody knows what the livestream will be about, but Thursday’s movement is the latest evidence of the GameStop momentum.
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Gill owns five million common shares of GameStop, and another 120,000 call options, according to unverified posts from his DeepF*ckingValue Reddit account earlier this week, a total position worth well over $100 million. Gill, celebrated by many on social media communities dedicated to day trading as a modern-day Robin Hood, faces significant scrutiny tied to his reemergence as an investor in GameStop, with brokerage E-Trade reportedly considering booting him from its platform and Massachusetts’ financial regulator probing his recent trading activity.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated…