A well-timed GameStop options trade delivered a significant $550K profit on Friday. This came after a cryptic social media post from “Roaring Kitty,” also known as Keith Gill, a famous stock influencer. The post featured an altered image from the 1999 movie “Toy Story 2” with a dog’s face on one of the characters. This was Gill’s first social media activity in more than two months, triggering intense interest from retail traders.
GameStop shares surged as much as 9% after Gill’s post, but later settled at a 4% increase. Just 18 minutes before his tweet, a trader bought around 10,000 GameStop call options, each with a $22.5 strike price. The cost of this trade was approximately $1.74 million. Shortly after Gill’s post, this same trader sold two blocks of 5,000 contracts, netting around $2.29 million.
The quick turnaround resulted in a $550,000 profit, representing a 30% gain in just minutes. Market analysts have taken notice of this sudden trade, noting the high risk involved in buying short-dated options just before the weekend. “That’s a lot of short-dated calls before the weekend,” commented Brent Kochuba, founder of SpotGamma. He noted the rapid move raised concerns due to the minimal time left for the options to expire.
This isn’t the first time Keith Gill has influenced stock prices. Back in June, a puppy photo he shared sparked speculation about Chewy, causing the stock to surge. His involvement in the GameStop saga continues to capture attention, especially following the dismissal of a lawsuit that accused him of manipulating the stock during the meme stock craze of 2021.
On the same day, Chewy shares also saw a modest recovery, up by 1.5% after an initial 4% drop earlier in the session. However, it remains unclear how long Gill’s influence will continue to sway the market. His cryptic posts keep traders on edge, constantly speculating about his next move.