Several meme stocks including AMC Entertainment Inc (NYSE:AMC), Koss Corp (NASDAQ:KOSS), BlackBerry Ltd (NYSE:BB) and Newegg Commerce Inc (NASDAQ:NEGG) are trading higher Thursday following a swift surge in GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) stock. Here's what you need to know.
What To Know: GameStop shares are soaring Thursday afternoon after Keith Gill, better known as "Roaring Kitty," scheduled a YouTube livestream for Friday at 12 p.m. ET.
The famed GameStop trader is responsible for much of the recent volatility in GameStop and other retail darlings. Gill is often credited with starting the meme stock madness of 2021 that saw multiple heavily shorted stocks squeeze higher as retail traders piled into the names.
Gill had been inactive on social media for three years before he posted a meme of a person sitting up and leaning forward in a chair on X last month. He followed that post up with a series of video clips before sharing a screenshot last weekend that appeared to show that he was holding 5 million shares of GameStop and 120,000 call options expiring later this month.
Gill was originally discovered on YouTube where he would stream weekly shows of himself researching GameStop and providing reasons why he believed it was undervalued and poised to trade higher. He eventually exploded on the scene when he starting sharing his positions on Reddit's r/WallStreetBets as GameStop shares squeezed to the upside. Tomorrow will mark his first YouTube stream in three years.
It's worth noting that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly looking into recent options trading activity in GameStop and Gill is facing increased scrutiny from Massachusetts securities regulators over potential manipulation.
AMC is considered one of the original meme stocks alongside GameStop. Koss, BlackBerry and Newegg have become retail favorites over the years as they continue to be heavily shorted. According to data from Benzinga Pro, 21.54% of Koss Corp's float is sold short. BlackBerry has short interest of 7.15% and Newegg's short interest is currently around 3.35%.
AMC, KOSS, BB, NEGG Price Action: At publication time, AMC shares were up 6.05% at $5.46, Koss Corp shares were up 4.01% at $4.97, BlackBerry shares were up 1.14% at $2.82 and Newegg shares were up 4.03% at 97 cents, per Benzinga Pro.
Photo: ClaraMD from Pixabay.
