GameStop and AMC surge evokes 2021 meme stocks saga

BlackBerry

14/05/2024 10:52

May 14 (Reuters) - Shares of GameStop  GME.N  and AMC
 AMC.N  jumped nearly 40% each in premarket trading on Tuesday,
and are on track to extend gains from a day earlier when a
series of posts from "Roaring Kitty" rekindled a rally
reminiscent of the meme stocks trading frenzy.
    Both GameStop and AMC were the most traded stocks by retail
investors on Monday, according to data from J.P.Morgan.
    "Roaring Kitty", the social media persona of Keith Gill,
credited with setting off the so-called Reddit rally in January
2021 with his bullish calls on GameStop, posted on social media
platform X, formerly Twitter, after nearly three years.
    Since Sunday, Gill has shared a meme and more than 10 clips
from movies including "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", "The Avengers"
and the 1993 Western "Tombstone". 
    The series of cryptic posts did not mention any company
names but sparked speculation in the retail trading community
that he might get back in action.
    GameStop surged as much as 118% on Monday and closed at a
two-year high, with its market cap surging nearly $4 billion to
$9.32 billion.
    AMC also surged 78% to $5.19. The world's largest theater
chain more than doubled from a record low it hit in mid-April.
    The euphoria also spread to micro-cap firms popular among
short sellers, traders who hope to make money by betting on a
stock's fall.
    On Tuesday, U.S.-listed shares of BlackBerry  BB.N  and
iconic food storage container company Tupperware  TUP.N  rose
27% and 3.8%, respectively. The two companies have about 8.4%
and 23.5%, respectively, of their free float in short position,
according to Ortex data.
    Shares of Reddit  RDDT.N  rose 2.9%. The social media firm
was used by retail investors in 2021 to coordinate and target
highly shorted stocks, in turn hurting bearish hedge funds in
what culminated into a battle between Wall Street and Main
Street.
    Retail investor-focused brokerage Robinhood  HOOD.O , which
made zero-commission trades mainstream, edged 0.9% higher. 

 (Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna
Chandra Eluri)
 ((Medha.Singh@thomsonreuters.com; +91 80 6210 0592; X, formerly
Twitter: @medhasinghs;))