By Susan McGee
(Reuters) – Shares of headphone maker Koss Corp rose for a second straight session on Friday to close at $13.35 after trading as high as $18.50 earlier in the day, as social media posts speculated that a post by stock influencer Keith Gill signaled his interest in the company.
Some followers of Gill, known to his online followers as “Growling Cat,” pointed out on social media that mysterious photos he posted in May of a microphone mounted against an American flag backdrop appeared as an emoji at the end of a video.
This led to speculation on Reddit, such as a post by “Wareth-Category42” on a GameStop subreddit that was tracking Gill’s return, that “Roaring Kitty” would become a Koss stock buyer on or around July 4, which is Independence Day. The poster also documented the similarities between Koss and GameStop. However, others on Reddit were skeptical because the American flag symbol had a microphone, not headphones.
Koss’s Friday rally follows a 143.8% surge in shortened trading Wednesday, bringing its gains for the week to nearly 230%. In premarket trading Friday, the stock briefly rose 74%.
“There are absolutely no fundamental reasons why this company should be worth four times what it was at the start of the week,” said Steve Sosnick, market strategist at Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq).
Sosnik and other traders noted that about half of Kos’ 9.25 million shares are owned by insiders, and such a small public offering means that even a small surge in buying could lead to exaggerated moves. By Friday afternoon, trading volume topped 47 million shares. The company’s average daily trading volume over the past 60 days is less than 2 million shares, traders noted.
Kos could not be reached for comment.
Gill, who did not return calls or emails seeking comment, has not made any public comments about Kos. In mid-June, he disclosed that he owned 9 million shares in GameStop Company Most recently, he disclosed in a filing with U.S. regulators that he had acquired a 6.6% stake in online pet food retailer Chewy (NYSE:) Inc.
Before investing in Chewy, Jill posted a series of images of a cartoon dog on X that followers believed foreshadowed this revelation. The previous video also included a similar cartoon dog emoji. This prompted “Roaring Kitty” fans to search for any hidden meanings in other stocks.