Meme stock world waits with bated breath as ‘Roaring Kitty’ teases livestream

KOSS

07/06/2024 11:00

By David Randall
       NEW YORK, June 7 (Reuters) - Meme stock traders will be
glued to their screens on Friday, when Keith Gill, online
influencer and a key figure behind the eye-popping rally in
shares of GameStop  GME.N  in 2021, is expected to host his
first YouTube livestream in three years. 
    The "Roaring Kitty" channel on YouTube - which Gill used to
post the videos that helped launch the meme stock phenomenon -
on Thursday showed a livestream schedule for 12 pm ET on Friday.
Shares of the video game retailer surged more than 47%,
rejuvenating a rally that began last month when an account
associated with Gill began posting on X, formerly known as
Twitter, after a years-long absence. 
    In 2021, Gill’s championing of GameStop, a retailer
struggling with shrinking sales, helped the company’s shares
rally by as much as 1,600% before they eventually tumbled. He
won a cult-like following among some investors, notoriety with
others. 
    His apparent reappearance sent GameStop shares skyrocketing
in recent weeks and reignited the meme stock phenomenon. Shares
of the company are up approximately 150% since May 13, when an
account on X linked to Gill began posting a series of memes that
some investors interpreted as indicating his bullishness on the
company. 
    GameStop rose 21% on Monday after Gill’s Reddit account
posted a screenshot showing a $116 million bet on the stock. The
post, the first from the account in three years, also showed a
position of 120,000 GameStop June 21 call options at a strike
price of $20, worth $65.7 million at last Friday's close. 
    Other names associated with the meme stock phenomenon also
jumped on Thursday, with AMC Entertainment  AMC.N  rising 12.42%
and headphone maker Koss  KOSS.O  up 15.48%. 
    While the 2021 rally was fueled in part by individual
investors banding together to punish hedge funds that had taken
bearish positions in GameStop and other companies, some analysts
said the same degree of fervor appears to be missing this time
around. 
    “Despite Keith Gill’s renewed weekend appearance and ensuing
GME price spike, retail traders don’t look to be sticking around
too long in the trade,” analysts at Vanda Track wrote in a note
earlier this week. 
    At the same time, Vanda believes “high-frequency
institutional traders are front-running retail’s efforts, and
performance data demonstrate that this is indeed not turning
into a widespread bullish phenomenon for the meme stocks
cohort.”
    Broader market conditions do not reflect the same
speculative energy as they did in 2021, said Jason Draho, Head
of Asset Allocation Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management.
The IPO market remains dormant, while M&A activity is mild, he
noted. 
    "Meme stock activity isn’t anywhere near it was in 2021,
even though we are seeing dramatic one-day moves," he said.

 (Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili and
David Gregorio)
 ((David.Randall@thomsonreuters.com; 646-223-6607; Reuters
Messaging: david.randall.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))