CEO of US Meme Stock 'GameStop'... Doubles in After-Hours Trading, What's Happening?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

원본보기 아이콘

The stock price of GameStop (ticker symbol GME), known as a representative of U.S. meme stocks, is soaring nearly twofold in after-hours trading on the 2nd (local time). This is attributed to the fact that 'Roaring Kitty,' the investor who led the 2021 GameStop incident, is known to hold a significant amount of GameStop shares.

According to U.S. media such as CNBC, 'Roaring Kitty' (real name Keith Gill), who is active on YouTube and other platforms, disclosed his portfolio on a Reddit board that night.

His portfolio includes 5 million shares of GameStop stock worth approximately $115.7 million based on last Friday's closing price, and 120,000 call options with a strike price of $20 expiring on the 21st (purchase price $5.68 each).

Regarding this, CNBC predicted that GameStop, which sparked the past meme stock craze, could lead another surge.

Following this outlook, in early trading before the New York Stock Exchange opened that day, GameStop's stock price surged about 88%.

GameStop's stock price more than doubled in May alone. This was after Roaring Kitty posted an image on his X (formerly Twitter) account, signaling his return after about three years.

GameStop, which had been experiencing financial difficulties, also secured about $900 million through a rights offering amid the stock price surge.

Meanwhile, the 2021 GameStop incident began when individual investors, mainly gathered around Reddit's stock discussion forums in 2021, started buying GameStop shares intensively to counter Wall Street institutional investors' short selling. This was based on the prediction that a short squeeze would occur, forcing institutional investors to buy back borrowed shares to cut losses. Roaring Kitty was at the forefront of this 'rebellion of the retail investors.'

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.