The Roaring Kitty Returns: Meme Stock Frenzy Reignites as GameStop Soars

Keith Gill, the mastermind behind the 2021 meme stock phenomenon, has resurfaced on the social media platform X after a three-year hiatus. His return has sparked a surge in the prices of several meme stocks, with GameStop leading the charge.

Gill, known by his online moniker “Roaring Kitty,” posted a meme image on Sunday depicting a man sitting forward in his chair, a gesture commonly used by gamers when the stakes are high. He followed up with a YouTube video from the past, reiterating his bullish case for GameStop.

GameStop, a struggling video game retailer, experienced a remarkable turnaround in 2021 as Gill and his supporters rallied behind the company. Their efforts defied expectations and transformed the trajectory of a business that was once on the brink of bankruptcy.

On Monday, Gill’s return to X ignited a frenzy, with GameStop’s shares doubling at the opening bell, marking its biggest intraday jump since the meme stock craze of 2021. Other meme stocks, such as AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Koss Co., also experienced significant gains in volatile trading.

The volatility was so intense that trading in GameStop was halted seven times within the first hour of trading on Monday. Gill’s posts on the Reddit subcategory Wallstreetbets in 2021 had sparked a battle between retail investors and large hedge funds that were heavily shorting GameStop’s stock. The retail investors emerged victorious, driving GameStop’s shares up by over 1,000% in 2021, along with other meme stocks like AMC, which surged by 2,300%.

As of Monday, GameStop’s shares, which had been steadily declining since 2021, jumped nearly 70%. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. leapt 23%, while Koss Co. spiked 52% and BlackBerry rose 7%. Bed, Bath & Beyond, another meme stock, had already filed for bankruptcy in 2022.

Gill, who had largely disappeared from messaging boards after posting a video of kittens going to sleep in June 2021, has now returned to the spotlight. The story of Roaring Kitty and the meme stock craze was adapted into a movie called “Dumb Money” in 2022.

The resurgence of meme stocks has once again captured the attention of investors and market watchers alike, as they speculate on the potential impact of Gill’s return and the continued influence of retail investors in shaping the financial landscape.