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GameStop stock is Having A Moment yet again thanks in no small part to Keith Gill, the day trader also known as “Roaring Kitty” who sparked the frenzy that took the world by storm more than three years ago. However, he could be facing a major issue courtesy of the folks at E*Trade.
It’s been around three weeks since GameStop shares experienced a sudden surge when Gill came out of an online hibernation stretching back to 2021 and started posting a flurry of memes on his Twitter account while sparking a buying bonanza courtesy of other amateur investors who took them as a sign to ride his coattails.
On Monday, it was subjected to another spike when the Reddit account associated with Gill posted a screenshot of a portfolio that’s home to five million shares of GameStop stock in addition to 120,000 call options with a $20 strike price, which highlighted just how much skin he currently has in the game (it’s worth noting there’s no concrete proof Gill is behind the posts, although there’s also no proof he sold his accounts to a buyer hoping to leverage his notoriety despite some speculation that’s the case).
According to The Wall Street Journal, the resurgence of the so-called “meme stock” has attracted scrutiny from the folks at E*Trade, the investment platform Gill has reportedly used to manage his holdings.
The outlet reports the global financial crimes unit at Morgan Stanley (which owns and operates E*Trade) has had conversations with its legal team about potentially banning Gill’s account over concerns he’s engaged in stock manipulation due to his online activity (which seems like a bit of a stretch based on the content of the actual posts that have influenced the recent rally).
You may remember a similar issue rearing its ugly head during the initial GameStop craze thanks to Robinhood, which was widely criticized for temporarily suspending trading near the peak of the mania under the guise of regulatory obligations.
As of this writing, GameStop stock is hovering at around $26.50 per share, which means the position Gill revealed on Sunday is now worth approximately $132.5 million