Video-game firm’s shares set to best March 2021’s 87% gain
Fellow meme-stock AMC Entertainment also gains on Monday
GameStop Corp. shares are poised for the kind of surge last seen during the meme-stock mania of 2021 — coinciding with the social media return of one of the stock’s biggest champions during that time.
The stock jumped as much as 110.2% in morning trading, putting the video-game firm’s monthly gain on track to top the 87% rally it saw in March 2021. Monday’s move follows a cryptic post on X from Keith Gill, more popularly known by his social media alias “Roaring Kitty.”
Gill gained notoriety in 2021 after posting a series of videos online urging investors to jump on the GameStop bandwagon during the meme-stock frenzy. His post late Sunday evening attracted more than 8 million views in the hours since its publication and is the first from his account since June 2021.
With no clear catalyst driving the recent gains, GameStop’s move has again seen retail investors make up the bulk of demand. Inflows through the last week totaled $12 million, according to Giacomo Pierantoni, head of data at Vanda Research.
“These surges in retail activity have served as contrarian signals, prompting institutional investors to quickly short the stock following these rallies driven by retail investors,” Pierantoni added.
Option activity on Gamestop has soared so far this month. Open interest on calls has reached 588,205 contracts, the highest point this year, while 293,402 calls were traded on Friday, nearly three times the 20-day average.
Meanwhile, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. — another stock favored by retail traders — jumped as much as 8.9% in premarket trading. The stock is down more than 99% since its 2021 peak, while GameStop shares have lost about 80% of their value since then.
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