GameStop shares surge 80% in pre-market trading as 'Roaring Kitty' reveals $115-mn exposure

GameStop soars 80% after super bull Keith Gill's Reddit post shows $116 million bet

‘Roaring kitty’ or Keith Gill, the man primarily responsible for the meme stock mania of 2021, has revealed the number of stocks he owns in the video game retailer GameStop.

According to Walter Bloomberg, an account on social media platform X that regularly tracks global market news, Gill, on June 2, said on Reddit that he owns over $115.7 million worth of shares in the US-based company.

Following the announcement, the GameStop Corporation stock was trading at $41.84, up by 80.81 percent in the pre-market trading on June 3.  It was the second-most actively traded stock, with 4.4 million shares changing hands by 4:30 a.m. ET.

He also disclosed, in a subreddit known as r/SuperStonk, that he “has about $65.7 million in call options expiring on June 21 with a strike price of $20 each”.

In the pre-market today, the influential investor is up $330 million as of now, taking his total portfolio’s worth to over $500 million.

It was the first post from Gill's Reddit account, which was central in fuelling a meme stock trading frenzy about three years ago by sharing screenshots of his bullish GameStop trades.

The screenshot posted on Sunday also showed $20 call options for GameStop expiring on June 21. The stock closed at $23 on Friday, up about 33% since Gill began sharing cryptic posts and memes on X.com in May, sparking speculation over whether he would resume sharing his trades online after a three-year hiatus.

Gill did not respond to a request for comment on Reddit or email.

Reddit shares jumped 7.5%, while retail trader-focused brokerage Robinhood gained 3.5%.

Among other meme stocks, AMC added 30%, Tupperware gained 12%, U.S.-listed shares of BlackBerry rose 7.8%.