The stock market influencer behind the so-called meme stock frenzy of 2021 has triggered a fresh surge in shares of GameStop, the struggling US videogame retailer.
Keith Gill, who goes by the name Roaring Kitty online, revealed a $116m (£90.8m) position in GameStop on Sunday.
Gill told his followers he controlled 1.8% of GameStop’s available stock – a holding of five million shares – plus call options that gave him the right to buy more later this month.
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A return to his Reddit account last month, for the first time in three years, was credited then for a renewed rush for GameStop and other out of favour stocks.
GameStop’s own market value doubled in just three weeks.
The retailer’s board cashed in on the renewed interest by raising more than $900m in a subsequent stock sale.
GameStop shares added $4.6bn to its market value after surging as much as 75% in early Monday deals.
They later settled around 30% higher.
LSEG data showed more GameStop shares had changed hands than in those for Apple within the first 42 minutes of official trading.
They stood at £30 per share following Friday’s close at $23.
Gill’s GameStop trades gave birth to the rush of demand for meme stocks in 2021.
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From 2021: ‘It’s about sticking it to the man’
It saw hedge funds’ positions rack up big losses as investors bought up stocks with weak fundamentals, such as GameStop and cinema chain AMC.
They gained a cult-like following through…
