Chewy's stock slides one day after Roaring Kitty's cryptic dog post

By James Rogers

The latest post from influential trader Keith Gill, also known as Roaring Kitty, has been making waves on social media

Shares of Chewy Inc. are down 9.7% Friday after spiking Thursday in the wake of a cryptic post from influential trader Keith Gill, also known as Roaring Kitty.

The post sparked speculation on social media that the dog image in the post was a reference to online pet-products retailer Chewy (CHWY). That speculation has continued into Friday.

Related: Roaring Kitty posts cryptic dog image, and shares of Chewy, GameStop react

An X user who goes by @BadassTrader69 posted on the platform that the image used the same color code of blue as Chewy's logo, saying it was "pretty f-ing compelling that he was talking about $CHWY."

The user added: "This still doesn't mean he bought it, could have just been a nod to it."

Related: GameStop's trading volume slips to lowest level since early May

On Thursday, another X user who posts as @BandoNFT also highlighted the color blue used in Roaring Kitty's dog image.

"He used the exact same shade of blue as the logo," @BandoNFT wrote on X.

Related: Why Roaring Kitty is a GameStop 'true believer'

Gill's return to social media last month sent shares of original meme stock GameStop Corp. (GME) soaring. The stock surged again after a June 2 Reddit post from an account associated with Gill appeared to show him holding a big stake in the videogame retailer.

GameStop Chief Executive Ryan Cohen is the former CEO and co-founder of Chewy, hence the close scrutiny of Gill's dog image.

Related: GameStop's stock pares back gains as Roaring Kitty grows stake

Chewy shares are trading on volume of 6.05 million Friday, well below their 65-day average volume of 11.28 million. Short interest as a percentage of Chewy's public float of shares is 14.9%.

"$CHWY looks interesting here," an X user who goes by @Mr_Derivatives wrote Friday morning. "15% short interest. Only 133M float. Probably can be a GME 2.0 if WSB apes really get behind it."

Related: Chewy's stock is having its best day ever amid signs pet adoptions are up again

The WallStreetBets subreddit played an important role in the meme-stock frenzy of 2021 that sent shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and GameStop skyrocketing. The investors who turned AMC into a meme stock often refer to themselves as "apes" or "ape nation."

But another X user who goes by @RickyAnalog wrote that Roaring Kitty "just created some serious bag holders," in a post on Thursday. "When will people learn?"

Related: Did one of Roaring Kitty's posts reveal his plan all along?

Roaring Kitty's dog post also lifted shares of PetCo Health & Wellness Co. (WOOF) Thursday, and the stock is up 5.5% Friday. GameStop shares are up 0.9% and AMC (AMC) is down 1%.

-James Rogers

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06-28-24 1048ET

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