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Key Takeaways
- GameStop shares fell in intraday trading Monday as the meme stock faces another day of volatility.
- Markets are reacting to news about Keith Gill, the trader known as “Roaring Kitty” who was a defining piece of the initial meme-stock craze of late 2020 and early 2021.
- Gill was revealed to have a 6.6% stake in online pet products retailer Chewy in an SEC filing Monday. He is also facing a class-action lawsuit over allegations of a “pump and dump” scheme with GameStop shares.
Shares of GameStop (GME) fell in intraday trading Monday as investors reacted to news about Keith Gill, the investor known as “Roaring Kitty” who was one of the key drivers of the meme-stock craze of late 2020 and early 2021.
Gill is facing a potential class-action lawsuit, filed late last week, over alleged manipulation of GameStop’s share price. Investors may also think Gill has moved on from the video-game retailer after news of his 6.6% stake in online pet store Chewy (CHWY).
Gill Faces Class-Action Suit Over GameStop Trading
Gill has faced legal and regulatory questions in the past, testifying before Congress over his role in the original meme-stock craze, and could face more legal issues going forward after a class-action suit was filed in New York last week.
The complaint, which covers traders who bought GameStop shares between May 13 and June 13, alleges that Gill bought a number of call options before returning to X in May with posts that he likely knew would inflate GameStop’s share price.
Subsequent reporting has indicated that regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in Massachusetts are looking into the trading activity around GameStop and his role in it. The Wall Street Journal has also reported that E*Trade and its parent Morgan Stanley (MS) are considering whether Gill’s actions constitute market manipulation and warrant removing him from their platform.
GameStop shares were down 4.7% to $23.54 as of 1:54 p.m. ET Monday.