(Bloomberg) — GameStop Corp.’s call options. Keith Gill – known online as ‘Roaring Kitty’ – claimed he shrunk his holdings amid a flurry of late trading on Wednesday and Thursday, suggesting he may have sold some of the position.
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Volume of GameStop $20 calls expiring on June 21 rose to 93,266 contracts on Wednesday, mostly in the last half-hour of trading, making it the most active option. On Thursday morning, volume picked up again shortly after 11:30 a.m., with most major trades at or near the bid, indicating selling pressure. By midday, the contract was again the most popular, having changed hands 41,230 times.
During Wednesday’s session, the number of outstanding contracts fell 34% to 111,818, less than the 120,000 Gill reportedly bought in a social media post earlier this month. A subsequent post showed he was still in the position as of June 10.
The $20 call, which closed at $6.40 on Wednesday, traded between $6 and $8.50 early Thursday as shares rose as much as 11%. That still leaves the options above its alleged average purchase price of $5.6754.
The increase in trading comes as GameStop was scheduled to hold a shareholder meeting on Thursday. The meeting was postponed due to technical issues with the livestream, the company said.
Wednesday’s high trading volume and change in outstanding positions “suggest that Gill, assuming he is in fact the holder of those calls, sold to close” at least part of the position, said Christopher Jacobson, co-head of the derivatives strategy at Susquehanna International Group.
News of his position caused the shares to nearly double this month to above $45 before retreating. The company benefited from the rally by selling $2.14 billion worth of shares. With expiration approaching, the question remains whether Gill would exercise the contracts to receive shares, or close the position.
As of Thursday morning, Gill had yet to comment on the recent transactions or his holdings, despite rampant speculation that he had exited the unverified position. What that could mean for the shares remains unclear.
“Whatever way stocks move today, it won’t be because they blame Keith Gill,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, referring to retail traders. “I don’t think it will be negative. They will say: good for him.”
(Updates with latest trading, postponement of meetings from the second paragraph.)
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