Keith Gill, also known as “Roaring Kitty,” who is a prominent figure in the “meme stock” movement, recently revealed that he had purchased a significant stake in the online pet retailer Chewy. This announcement caused Chewy’s stock price to surge by more than 11% in early Monday trading. Gill had hinted at his Chewy investment with a post containing a dog emoji on social media platform X the previous week, which led to a rally in Chewy shares, as well as other pet-related stocks.
According to an SEC filing, Gill bought shares worth around $245 million, representing approximately 6.6% of Chewy’s total company shares at Friday’s closing price. As a quirky addition, Gill included a statement in his 13G filing form clarifying that he is “not a cat.” Gill gained notoriety in 2021 for leading a movement to invest in struggling traditional companies like GameStop, AMC, and Bed Bath and Beyond. However, his activities have attracted legal scrutiny, with a recent class-action lawsuit in Brooklyn accusing him of a “pump and dump” scheme involving GameStop shares.
The lawsuit alleges that Gill artificially inflated GameStop’s stock price through misleading online posts before selling his holdings for a profit, causing losses for other investors. Despite the ongoing investigations and legal challenges, GameStop’s share price remains higher than before Gill’s involvement but has dropped by 50% from its peak. The secretary of state of Massachusetts, Gill’s home state, is investigating his GameStop trades, though Gill has not yet commented on the matter.
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