‘Roaring Kitty’ triggers $6.9 billion Wall Street frenzy with a YouTube post

Keith Gill, whose Roaring Kitty online moniker has sent GameStop shares surging in the past week, sparked another rally in the video-game retailer after a YouTube post said he’d return to the platform for the first time in three years.

GameStop shares surged by more than 50 per cent during the session before closing 47.5 per cent higher, adding around $US4.6 billion ($6.9 billion) to GameStop’s market capitalisation. The company is now worth more than $US14 billion.

Keith Gill, also known as “Roaring Kitty”, is set to appear on YouTube for the first time in three years.Credit: YouTube

While Gill’s YouTube post contained no information on what the investor planned to discuss or disclose, his expected return sparked further speculation that Gill is bullish on GameStop. The post says his live stream will kick off at 12pm New York time on Friday.

Within minutes of the posting, more than 10,000 YouTube users signalled an interest in being notified when the stream starts. The video’s live chat featured hundreds of comments. GameStop’s ticker, GME, quickly started trending on the popular StockTwits chat room and Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum.

While options activity on GameStop was elevated relative to recent weeks, the ratio of bullish to bearish bets was not indicative of day traders piling into call options in an attempt to drive the stock price higher.

In past bouts of meme-driven rallies, day traders have flooded into out-of-the-money calls, forcing dealers to buy the underlying shares as a hedge. Those purchases added more upward pressure on the share price, pushing some derivatives into the money and sparking more options buying in what’s known on Wall Street as a gamma squeeze.

Call contracts that expire June 14 with a strike price of $US128 — a level that’s three times higher than the stock’s current price — were the most traded Thursday, with buyers appearing to outstrip sellers, traders said.

The details of the scheduled stream also included a disclaimer that had not appeared in the account’s prior YouTube posts, bearing a warning that the video would be opinion-based, along with familiar equity legalese saying past performance is not indicative of future results.

“This YouTube channel is not under any obligation to update or correct any information provided in these videos,” the disclaimer read in part. “Statements and opinions are subject to change without notice. No compensation is received by this YouTube channel for the opinions expressed.”

Meme stock darling GameStop is soaring again.Credit: AP

The new disclaimer comes after a Wall Street Journal report that online brokerage E*Trade was considering banning Gill from its platform amid concerns over whether his social media actions could amount to market manipulation.

Jerry Selvers, a securities lawyer at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, said the language was probably because the YouTube account’s owner is concerned about such accusations.

“The motivation is likely to try and prevent either the SEC, state regulators or even individuals to come after him,” Selvers, who previously worked at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, said. “But I’m betting a lawyer didn’t write this. ”

Earlier this week, Gill, who became an icon for cooped-up retail traders at the height of the pandemic, shared a screenshot that appeared to show his owning a $US116 million position in GameStop. A position that large would make Gill one of the company’s five biggest investors and is more than six times the number of shares his account showed in an April 2021 post, the last time it was active on Reddit, when accounting for a four-for-one stock split.

Gill, who is known by his X and YouTube handle Roaring Kitty as well as DeepF—-ingValue handle on Reddit, profited handsomely from investing in the beleaguered video-game retailer through 2020 and 2021.

His activity across social media, beginning with a May 12 post with an image of a video gamer leaning in, fuelled anticipation he’d make a swift return to the market and drove shares to more than triple in days. The Reddit post less than a month later sent shares even higher with Gill also posting an image of a reverse card from the game UNO that indicates a player is changing the card-pickup direction.

The stock’s reaction to Gill’s social media accounts has sparked debate over whether he has violated any securities regulations. Brokerage E*Trade is considering kicking Gill off of its platform over concerns about potential stock manipulation tied his recent GameStop options purchase, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Bloomberg

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