GameStop (GME) stock rose as much as 75% in pre-market trading on Monday after Keith Gill, the individual investor who ignited the meme stock rally back in 2021, posted a screenshot on Reddit late Sunday that purported to show he’d built a nearly $175 million position in the video game retailer.
Gill, also known as Roaring Kitty on X and YouTube, and a user “DeepF—ingValue” on Reddit, posted the screenshot Sunday night on Reddit’s Superstonk subreddit.
The screenshot showed holdings of 5 million GameStop shares purchased at an average price of $21.274, a position worth $115.7 million as of Friday’s closing price of $23.14. GameStop shares traded hands as high as $41 in pre-market trade on Monday.
The account also appears to own 120,000 options contracts that expire June 21. These contracts confer the right to buy GameStop shares at $20 each, a position worth $65.7 million as of Friday’s close.
Monday’s pre-market surge comes after GameStop rallied 180% over a span of two days back in mid-May after “Roaring Kitty” posted for the first time on X since 2021.
Last month’s rally was short-lived, as analysts warned the meme action this time around was a far cry from the level of retail inflows seen in 2021.
Still, GameStop capitalized on May’s rally as the company last month sold 45 million shares, bringing in around $930 million in proceeds. The stock surged 25% on the news.
Typically, investors would expect the stock price of a company issuing new shares — which dilute the value of current holdings — to decline after a stock sale.
“If this were a normal market, people would be a little freaked out,” Steve Sosnick, Interactive Brokers chief strategist, told Yahoo Finance last week following the news.
“You don’t sell stock into the market if you think your stock is undervalued. You do it when you think your stock is overvalued.”
AMC (AMC) also capitalized on the meme frenzy, raising $250 million through the sale of 72.5 million shares last month. AMC shares also rose Monday, gaining 25% in pre-market trade.
Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.
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