GameStop Corp. (GME) shares shot up after Keith Gill posted a screenshot of a $116m stake in the company on Reddit (RDDT).
GameStop Stock Jumps After $116m Stake Posted On Reddit
This reportedly renewed the meme-stock fixation of 2021, which happens when a company’s shares peak in the wake of viral social media exposure. Gill’s post, which appeared on Sunday 2 June 2024, indicated that he had bought 5 million GameStop shares at $21.27 each. Should this be the case, Gill will be one of the company’s top five investors.
Bloomberg noted that this investment is six times the number of shares that Gill’s account showed in April 2021. On Monday 3 June 2024, GameStop’s stock surged by 21%. According to a Bloomberg report, 164 million shares changed hands and the firm’s market cap grew by $1.7bn.
This post was the Reddit account’s first activity since 2021. The screenshot also showed 120,000 call options to the value of $65.7m that expire on 21 June 2024. A later post indicated that the Reddit shares were worth $140m and the options $120m.
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At the final bell on Monday 3 June 2024, GameStop’s shares traded at $28 each. This means that Gill’s 17 million combined shares carry a value of $476m, signifying him as the fourth-largest investor in the organisation.
Besides Reddit, Gill returned to X under the ‘Roaring Kitty’ handle in May 2024 and sparked a 271% GameStop share surge. This quickly subsided after two days as investors lost interest. Robert Lea, a Bloomberg analyst, said:
Recent renewed interest in meme stocks, coming as the main US indices struggle to make new highs, is a sign of excessive over-exuberance and is more likely a negative portent given the rising headwinds in the markets.