Roaring Kitty a.k.a. Keith Gill has chosen a new destination after GameStop
A recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that a well-known meme stock trader known as "Roaring Kitty" has acquired a stake in a pet food retailer. It didn't take long for the stock price to jump more than 10% in premarket trading before gradually losing those gains.
Who is Keith Gill?
Keith Gill is an American investor and securities trader. He roseto fame as a key figure in the so-called "meme-stock" scandal involving GameStop shares in 2021 and in recent weeks, when he began to work his social media "magic" again, pushing the $GME-0.8%share price higherin the short term .
Gill began investing in GameStop stock in 2019 and has been systematically building his position. When GameStop stock skyrocketed in January 2021, Gill became a target of the media and broader public attention. He was accused of manipulating the market, but those accusations were never proven. After this event, Gill continued his investing and remained active in the investment community, particularly on the Reddit and X platform.
Where is he investing now?
The latest filing revealed that Roaring Kitty, whose given name is Keith Gill, has bought over 9 million shares of Chewy $CHWY+3.7%, representing a 6.6% stake in the company. According to FactSet, this makes him Chewy's third largest shareholder. Based on Friday's closing price, that stake is worth more than $245 million. This pushed the company's shares up more than 10% before the opening bell.
Chewy, Inc.
CHWYThe SEC filing also included a section stating, "Check the correct box to indicate if you are a cat." A box was checked next to the answer "I am not a cat." This line was included in Gill's testimony during a series of congressional hearings regarding the business mania surrounding GameStop stock in 2021.
Market reaction and the GameStop connection
Chewy shares experienced a wild ride last week after Gill posted a picture of a cartoon dog resembling the Chewy logo on social network X. Shares rose as much as 34% on Thursday, but ended the day slightly lower.
CNBC contacted Chewy's PR department for comment on the new shareholder, but has yet to receive a response.
Gill is known for his enthusiasm for GameStop $GME-0.8%stock and has made a significant impact on the company's trading in recent months. In mid-June, he disclosed that he owned 9.001 million GameStop shares after selling his huge position in options contracts. It's unclear whether the sale of GameStop shares funded his purchase of Chewy stock.
GameStop and Chewy's historical connection
There is some connection between GameStop and Chewy. GameStop's CEO, Ryan Cohen, was the founder and CEO of Chewy and played a key role in Chewy's acquisition by PetSmart in 2017 and its subsequent listing on the stock exchange in 2019.
Cohen joined GameStop's board of directors along with two other Chewy executives in January 2021, which in part helped kick-start the first wave of growth in GameStop stock. He later became GameStop's CEO in 2023, leading the brick-and-mortar video game retailer's transformation.
In a recent YouTube livestream, Gill said that GameStop is in the second phase of its reinvention, and that it has become a bet on Cohen himself to lead the turnaround and transition to e-commerce.
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