‘Roaring Kitty’ could not save GameStop as meme stock tanks

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 slumped 40%.

GameStop shares plummeted after the video game retailer unveiled a share 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 crew” while joking about memes and issuing disclaimers that retail traders could “lose it all.” 

Gill said his “aggressive style of investing, it is almost certainly not suitable for you all.” 

GameStop reported its quarterly results four days ahead of schedule on Friday, which sent the stock shooting up 50% before Gill posted about his upcoming livestream.

‘ROARING KITTY’ SAYS GAMESTOP TO BENEFIT FROM ‘RYAN COHEN AND CREW’

The volatile movement in GameStop, AMC Entertainment and other stocks popular on Reddit show retail traders still have a big appetite for taking risks on struggling companies — investments inspired by nostalgia and internet jokes rather than good business sense.

“You post a couple of memes, you post a couple of screenshots, and everyone loses their minds,” Gill said on the livestream, wearing a headband and white sunglasses.

GameStop finished trading at $28.22 after it was halted several times ahead of and during the much-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 SHARES VOLATILE AFTER EARNINGS AND AHEAD OF ‘ROARING KITTY’ LIVE STREAM

GameStop logo is seen in front of the displayed Reddit logo in this illustration taken Feb. 2, 2021. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration / Reuters Photos)

Gill expressed confidence in Cohen’s ability to pull GameStop through the “transformation stage” he believes the company has entered.

“I’m not promising anything, but over the long term here, I think he seems like the type of guy,” he said. “He seems like he has those characteristics in the way he approaches this, seems like he might be able to do this but, again, that’s not a guarantee.”

IN 2021, Gill’s advocacy for GameStop sent its shares soaring by as much as 1,600% before they came crashing back to earth. He became an internet hero to some and an annoyance for others on Wall Street.

“This is what he does. He discusses the fundamentals, he likes the stock, he memes, he drinks, he rambles,” user SteveRogers 7 commented on Reddit after Gill’s livestream. “You want him to tell you to go and pump GME? That is not gonna happen, stay disappointed.”

GAMESTOP SHARES SURGE AFTER ‘ROARING KITTY’ POST

Keith Gill, known on Reddit under the pseudonym DeepFuckingValue and as Roaring Kitty, is seen on a fragment of a youtube video displayed on a smartphone screen in front of GameStop logo. (Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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.

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Last month, GameStop said it made more than $900 million by selling 45 million shares after meme-stocks rallied thanks to investor enthusiasm.

“Retail traders are growing in force and inserting themselves into the conversation like never before. These investors truly have a seat at the table now and need to be paid their due attention by public companies for their influence,” Don Montanaro, president of discount brokerage Firstrade, told Reuters.

Reuters contributed to this report.