GameStop (GME) stock rose as much as 110% on Monday before paring gains, stalling on volatility several times after “Roaring Kitty,” the one seen as the start of the meme stock craze during the pandemic. to publish Online for the first time since 2021.
The stock topped $30 a share on Monday to close up 75%. Shares have been on an upward trend, rising nearly 60% over the past two weeks.
“Roaring Kitty,” identified that year as Keith Gill, became a prominent figure on the WallStreetBets subreddit and YouTube for his bullish position on GameStop (GME).
Sunday's post on X, formerly known as Twitter, included a photo of a video gamer leaning forward, appearing to take the game seriously. The post received more than 81,000 likes and 9,000 comments. The last time Roaring Kitty posted on X was in June 2021.
He was known for posting commentary about why GameStop was rising and eventually testified before Congress about the massive short squeeze in January 2021 that was spurred by an army of retail traders.
Short interest in GameStop is about 24% of the float, according to S3 Partners data.
“Including today’s losses, GME shorts are now down $1.34 billion in May year-to-date losses, and are now down $952 million for the year,” Ihor Dusaniwski, managing director of S3 Partners, told Yahoo Finance on Monday.
Monday's short squeeze comes on the heels of a recent surge in meme-related stocks. Shares of theater chain operator AMC (AMC) rose as much as 50% during the session, while shares of Trump Media & Technology (DJT) rose 8%.
“Short sellers could be in for a bumpy and bloody ride in these stocks,” Dusaniwski said.
As Yahoo Finance's Jared Blecker recently pointed out, the recent rise in meme stocks does not appear to be an ominous sign as in the past, but rather a healthy appetite for risk for investments.
Ines Ferry is Yahoo Finance's chief business correspondent. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre.
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