Written by David Randall
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Meme stock traders will be glued to their screens on Friday, when Keith Gill, the online influencer and key figure behind the stunning rise in GameStop (NYSE:) shares in 2021, hosts his own conference. First live broadcast on YouTube in three years.
The “Roaring Kitty” YouTube channel — which Gill used to post videos that helped launch the stock meme phenomenon — on Thursday offered a live broadcast schedule for 12 noon ET on Friday. Shares of the video game retailer rose more than 47%, renewing a rally that began last month when an account linked to Generations began posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, after a years-long absence.
In 2021, Jill's support for GameStop, a retailer struggling with shrinking sales, helped the company's shares rise as much as 1,600% before eventually tumbling. It has gained a cult-like following among some investors, and a bad reputation among others.
His apparent appearance has sent GameStop shares skyrocketing in recent weeks and reignited the meme stock phenomenon. The company's shares have risen nearly 150% since May 13, when an account on X linked to Generation began posting a series of memes that some investors interpreted as indicating his bullish sentiment toward the company.
GameStop stock 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 call options on June 21 with a strike price of $20, worth $65.7 million at last Friday's close.
Other names associated with the meme stock phenomenon also jumped Thursday, with AMC Entertainment (NYSE:) up 12.42% and headphone maker Koss up 15.48%.
While 2021's rally was driven in part by individual investors banding together to punish hedge funds that took bearish positions in GameStop and other companies, some analysts said the same degree of enthusiasm appears to be missing this time around.
“Despite Keith Gill's renewed weekend appearance and subsequent GME price rally, retail traders do not appear to be staying long in the trade,” analysts at Vanda (NASDAQ:) wrote in a note earlier this week.
At the same time, Vanda believes that “high-frequency institutional traders are at the forefront of segmentation efforts, and performance data shows that this is not really turning into a broad bullish phenomenon for the meme stock group.”
Jason Draho, head of asset allocation for the Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, said broader market conditions do not reflect the same speculative energy as they did in 2021. He noted that the IPO market remains dormant, while M&A activity is moderate.
“Meme stock activity is nowhere near what it was in 2021, although we are seeing exciting one-day moves,” he said.