GameStop briefly rallies after ‘Roaring Kitty’ testifies to Congress

2:46 pm Thursday, February 18th, 2021

By Noel Randewich

(Reuters) – Shares of GameStop briefly reversed losses on Thursday after the trader known as Roaring Kitty told a congressional hearing he remained optimistic about the stock following its recent rally and selloff.

Shares rose as much as 4% before falling again to a loss of about 4%.

Keith Gill, 34, known on YouTube as Roaring Kitty and widely followed on Reddit’s popular Wallstreetbets trading forum, addressed the hearing over video from a red videogaming chair.

In the background was a poster of a kitten dangling by a paw with the caption “Hang in there!,” an apparent message to fellow GameStop investors, many of whom now face deep losses after buying at the height of the stock’s rally.

“As for me, I like the stock. I’m as bullish as I’ve ever been on a potential turnaround for GameStop and I remain invested in the company,” Gill, who said he played video games and shopped at GameStop in his youth, told the hearing.

Fueled by snowballing enthusiasm on Reddit, GameStop stock surged over 1,000% during two weeks in late January. The stock has since tumbled, but it remains up over 100% year to date.

Many Reddit users are still bullish and urge others in the discussion group sitting on painful losses not to sell.

Gill began sharing his positions on Wallstreetbets in September 2019, posting a portfolio screenshot indicating he had invested $53,000 in GameStop.

By late January, he was up over 4,000% on stock and options investments in the company, with his GameStop position plus cash worth nearly $48 million, according to his Reddit posts.

Gill has not recently posted his position in GameStop on Reddit.

Reacting to Gill’s testimony, users on Reddit described Gill as a “legend” and “our saviour!,” with one user commenting, “Godspeed my friend.”

Gill appeared before the House finance panel along with senior executives from Robinhood, Melvin Capital, Reddit and Citadel.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)