The original meme stock mania has been reawakened with a vengeance. GameStop (GME) shares skyrocketed over 70% amid frantic trading on Monday after retail trader Keith Gill, popularly known as “Roaring Kitty,” revealed a colossal new bullish position in the video game retailer.
In his first major post on Reddit in years, Gill shared a screenshot that appeared to show a staggering $175 million bet on GameStop. The purported stake consisted of 5 million shares valued at $116 million and $65.7 million worth of call options expiring in June.
The revelation instantly reignited the meme stock frenzy. Feverish trading volumes in GameStop stock spiked more than tenfold, briefly surpassing even the mighty Apple (AAPL) at one point. By mid-morning, GameStop’s heavily shorted shares had skyrocketed as high as 75% in an explosive upward move reminiscent of the legendary January 2021 short squeeze.
Fellow meme favorites like AMC Entertainment (AMC) caught a powerful sympathy rally bid as well, surging over 20% on massive volumes before getting temporarily halted. The meme stock comeback had arrived in full force.
Gill’s outsize position punched far above GameStop’s relatively small $7 billion market cap. Analysts noted the dramatic price impact stemmed from the stock’s concentrated short position, which got pulverized as the fortunes quickly shifted.
The sudden lurch higher put short sellers covering their losing bets on a pace to absorb nearly $1 billion in losses, according to analytics firm Ortex. GameStop once again became the most frenzied trading name across no-fee retail platforms like Robinhood (HOOD).
Longtime GameStop investors flooded Reddit forums like WallStreetBets and Superstonk with jubilant scenes. Rocket emojis and feverish rallying cries echoed the legendary meme stock heydays of 2021 as the “diamond hands” crowd smelled redemption.
However, some analysts cautioned that chasing GameStop’s vertigo-inducing rally carried substantial risks. The company continues grappling with operational challenges like slowing sales and a customer shift away from physical games toward digital downloads and streaming.
Still, the meme mania machine may be too powerful to stop now that it has been reactivated by its celebrity mascot. GameStop raised $933 million last month from a stock sale, taking advantage of May’s initial retail resurgence to fortify its turnaround ambitions.
While May’s hype dissipated quickly without broad staying power, the same explosive ingredients powering 2021’s mania remain in place today – and have only intensified with Gill’s outsized position. GameStop’s short interest spiked to nosebleed levels, leaving bearish traders acutely vulnerable to getting blown out by a sustained rally.
Those dynamics set the stage for an epic rematch between the “diamond hands” unleashed and hedge funds caught flat-footed. Redemption beckons for the OG meme crowd still down on their initial GameStop bets. Meanwhile, a new generation of retail traders is getting initiated into the frenzy, enticed by visions of generational wealth on a lucky long-shot wager.
There are no guarantees the meme stock fever lasts. But the tantalizing combination of high short interest, heavy retail buy interest, and now the return of an idolized icon like Roaring Kitty has all the makings of another wild speculative blowoff. The opening act of 2021’s wildest stock story may ultimately prove just the warmup before a shocking meme stock encore too insane to script.
