Meme stock trader Keith Gill, aka “Roaring Kitty,” failed to rally investors around GameStop with his first livestream in three years on Friday as the stock fell 40%.
Shares of GameStop plummeted after the video game retailer unveiled a stock sale to raise up to $3 billion. Gill, meanwhile, told nearly 600,000 viewers on his YouTube livestream to bet on CEO Ryan Cohen “and his team,” while joking about memes and issuing disclaimers that retailers “could lose everything.”
Gill said his “aggressive style of investing is almost certainly not suitable for all of you.”
GameStop reported its quarterly results four days ahead of schedule on Friday, sending its shares up 50% before Gill reported on its upcoming livestream.
‘ROARING KITTY’ SAYS GAMESTOP TO BENEFIT FROM ‘RYAN COHEN AND CREW’
The volatile move in GameStop, AMC Entertainment and other stocks popular on Reddit shows that retail traders are still very willing to take risks on troubled companies – investments inspired by nostalgia and internet jokes rather than sound business sense.
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“You post a few memes, you post a few screenshots, and everyone goes crazy,” Gill said during the livestream, wearing a headband and white sunglasses.
GameStop ended at $28.22 after trading was halted several times leading up to and during the highly anticipated livestream.
Investors exchanged $10 billion worth of GameStop shares, more than any other stock on Wall Street except Nvidia and Apple, according to LSEG data reported by Reuters.
GAMESTOP Stocks Are Volatile After Earnings and Before ‘ROARING KITTY’ Live Stream
Gill expressed confidence in Cohen’s ability to guide GameStop through the “transformation phase” he believes the company has entered.
“I’m not making any promises, but in the long run I think he seems like the type of guy,” he said. “It seems like he has these characteristics in the way he approaches this. It seems like he might be able to do this, but again, that’s no guarantee.”
IN 2021, Gill’s advocacy for GameStop sent the stock soaring as much as 1,600% before crashing back to earth. He became an internet hero to some and an annoyance on Wall Street to others.
“This is what he does. He discusses the fundamentals, he likes the stocks, he makes memes, he drinks, he walks,” user SteveRogers 7 commented on Reddit after Gill’s livestream. “Do you want him to tell you to start pumping GME? That’s not going to happen, stay disappointed.’
GAMESTOP SHARES POST AFTER ‘ROARING KITTY’ POST
In Friday’s report, GameStop said it saw net sales of $881.8 million and a net loss of $32.3 million for the first quarter. The former represented a year-over-year decline of 28.7%, while the latter was an improvement.
The retailer reported $1.083 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.
The company also said it would sell up to 75 million shares to raise capital, but did not say when it would do so.
Last month, GameStop said it made more than $900 million by selling 45 million shares after meme stocks rebounded thanks to investor enthusiasm.
“Retail traders are becoming increasingly important and joining the conversation like never before. These investors now really have a seat at the table and need to be given due attention by publicly traded companies for their influence,” said Don Montanaro, president of discount brokerage. Firstrade, told Reuters.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Original article source: ‘Roaring Kitty’ failed to save GameStop as meme stock tanks
