Who Is 'Roaring Kitty?' — The Leader Behind The GameStop Short Squeeze - GameStop (NYSE:GME)

Details have emerged about “Roaring Kitty”, a notable participant on WallStreetBets Reddit forum, who has been instrumental in driving retail investor interest in the shares of GameStop Corp GME.

What Happened: Keith Patrick Gill, a 34-year old from Massachusetts, is a financial advisor who was previously employed by MassMutual, Reuters reported — citing public records and social media posts.

Gill is also reportedly the person behind the Roaring Kitty YouTube videos. His posts on Reddit are made using a handle that includes profanity.

Reuters said it identified Gill as Roaring Kitty by tracking a New Hampshire-based company created by Gill that shares the same name and email as his Roaring Kitty YouTube account.

The Daily Mail separately ran a story on Gill, which identified him as a married and the father of one child.

Gill’s brother, as verified by Reuters, said on social media that his “brother is kinda famous now” pointing to the Mail’s coverage.

Why It Matters: Roaring Kitty advocated buying GameStop shares, citing the company’s position as a market leader, the strength of its rewards members, and $22 billion in product sales.

“Clearly the new management team is laser focussed on gaming,” the YouTuber said on the company’s prospects last August.

The Reddit post made a $56,000 bet on GameStop by buying call options, which were worth more than $16 million as of this week.

GME YOLO update — Jan 28 2021 from r/wallstreetbets

Shares pushed by the Reddit forum have soared with GameStop surging over 1294% since the beginning of the year.

WallStreetBet posters have fueled a rally in the shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC, Nokia Oyj NOK, BlackBerry Inc BB, and others.

Price Action: GameStop shares traded over 65% higher at $311.99 in the after-hours session after closing 44.11% lower at $193.60 on Thursday.

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