GameStop Stock Soars 47% as ‘Roaring Kitty’ Schedules First Livestream in 3 Years

GameStop (GME) shares soared over 47% Thursday after Keith Gill, who goes by “Roaring Kitty” and was one of the key players in the 2020 and 2021 meme-stock craze, scheduled his first YouTube livestream in more than three years.

Gill scheduled a YouTube livestream for 12 p.m. ET Friday, in what will be his first livestream since 2021. Nearly 15,000 users were registered as waiting for the stream as of 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday.

How Gill’s Livestream Could Affect GameStop Stock

Friday’s livestream comes after weeks of online activity from Gill that sparked swings in GameStop’s stock price, suggesting Friday’s event could also lead to more volatility in the stock.

Gill would stream on the Roaring Kitty account for hours at a time, multiple days per week during the meme-stock craze of 2020 and 2021, and GameStop shares had surged in 2020 after Gill posted a video detailing his enthusiasm for GameStop stock and why he believed it had become undervalued. However, as Gill later stepped back from public life in June 2021, the hype around GameStop eventually faded—until recently.

Last month, Gill started posting on X for the first time since the June 2021 departure, driving GameStop’s price higher again, along with other meme stocks like AMC Entertainment (AMC), raising speculation of a meme stock resurgence. 

Regulators Reportedly Investigating Gill’s GME Trades

Gill’s return to livestreaming also comes amid reports that Morgan Stanley’s (MS) E*Trade is considering banning Gill from the trading platform and regulators are investigating trading activity around GameStop amid concerns about whether Gill’s actions constitute market manipulation.

GameStop shares closed 47.5% higher at $46.55 Thursday, while AMC rose 12.4% to $5.79. Other other meme stocks including Tupperware (TUP) also gained.