'Buckle up!' Social media reacts to news of Roaring Kitty's first livestream in 3 years.

By James Rogers

GameStop shares surge on news that influential trader Keith Gill, also known as Roaring Kitty, will host his first YouTube livestream in three years

Shares of GameStop Corp. continued their rally Thursday, ending the session up 47.5% on news that influential trader Keith Gill, also known as Roaring Kitty, will host his first YouTube livestream in three years.

The livestream is scheduled for noon Eastern time Friday. Gill's last YouTube livestream was on April 16, 2021, and has racked up over 1.1 million views. Roaring Kitty, an influential figure in the 2021 meme-stock frenzy, has 714,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel.

News of Friday's livestream sparked plenty of reaction on social media. "Well there you go - @TheRoaringKitty has scheduled his first livestream since 2021 for tomorrow, June 7th at noon ET," wrote Dave Lauer, CEO of Urvin Finance, a social platform for investors, on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Buckle up!"

Related: GameStop shares halted twice for volatility as stock surges

"Let the countdown begin..." wrote Stocktwits, a social platform for investors and traders, on X.

"Oh. My. Goodness," wrote @amitisinvesting on X, who also noticed the surge in GameStop's share price.

Gill's return to social media last month sparked a new meme-stock rally that caused a rise in shares of GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC), as well as other stocks. GameStop and AMC were at the heart of the 2021 meme-stock rally.

Related: GameStop shares resume rally, seal highest close in 3 weeks

GameStop shares were halted twice for volatility Thursday. The stock, which closed at $46.55, sealed its highest close since May 14, when it ended that day's session at $48.75. GameStop shares are up five of the past six trading days.

AMC shares closed up 12.4% on Thursday after ending Wednesday's session up 7.5%.

Shares of GameStop surged again on Monday after a Sunday Reddit post from an account associated with Gill appeared to show him holding a big stake in the videogame retailer. A subsequent screenshot posted Monday showed Gill holding his position.

Related: Massachusetts securities regulator 'looking into' Roaring Kitty's activities

MarketWatch could not verify the authenticity of the screenshots. Gill also made a cryptic post on X, formerly known as Twitter, posting a green "reverse" card from the card game Uno.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin told MarketWatch that the state's securities division is "looking into" Gill's trading activities.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported this week that the Securities and Exchange Commission has been reviewing trading in GameStop call options around the time of the social-media posts from Gill. However, it could not be determined if the SEC was reviewing Gill specifically, according to the Journal.

Related: Latest GameStop stock rally fueled by 'baseless speculation,' brokerage CEO says

Gill has not yet responded to requests for comment on the Massachusetts probe or the SEC's reported trading review.

GameStop shares are up 165.5% in 2024, while AMC's stock is down 5.4% and the S&P 500 index SPX is up 12.2%.

Joseph Adinolfi and Gordon Gottsegen contributed.

-James Rogers

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06-06-24 1630ET

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