GameStop Options Action Hints ‘Roaring Kitty’ Shrinking Bet

(Bloomberg) — Holdings of the GameStop Corp. call options Keith Gill — known online as ‘Roaring Kitty’ — purported to own shrank amid a flurry of late trading Wednesday and Thursday, suggesting that he may have sold some of the position.

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Volume of GameStop $20 calls expiring on June 21 surged 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 large transactions at or near the bid, signaling selling pressure. By midday, the contract was again the most popular, having changed hands 41,230 times.

Through Wednesday’s session, the number of outstanding contracts dropped 34% to 111,818, fewer than the 120,000 Gill alleged in a social media post earlier this month to have bought. A subsequent post showed as of June 10 he still held the position.

The $20 calls, which closed at $6.40 Wednesday, traded between $6 and $8.50 early Thursday as shares rose as much as 11%. That leaves the options still above his purported average purchase price of $5.6754.

The surge in trading comes as GameStop was scheduled to hold a shareholder meeting on Thursday. The meeting was postponed due to technical difficulties with the live stream, according to the company.

Wednesday’s high volume of trading and change in outstanding positions “suggest that Gill, assuming he is in fact the holder of those calls, sold to close” at least part the position, according to Christopher Jacobson, co-head of derivative strategy at Susquehanna International Group.

News of his position sent shares nearly doubling to over $45 this month, before retreating. The company capitalized on the rally to sell $2.14 billion of shares. With expiration approaching, the question has remained whether Gill would exercise the contracts to receive shares, or close out the position.

As of Thursday morning, Gill had yet to address the recent trades or his holdings, despite rampant speculation that he had exited the unverified position. What — if anything — that might mean for shares remains unclear.

“Whichever direction that shares move today, it’s not going to be because they’re blaming Keith Gill,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, referring to retail traders. “I don’t think it will be negative. They’ll say: good for him.”

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(Updates with latest trading, meeting postponement starting in second paragraph.)

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