Meme-stock maven Roaring Kitty surfaced on social media again to hype GameStop shares. But there are much more lucrative targets beyond the S&P 500.
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Ten stocks in the S&P Composite 1500, including SunPower (SPWR), B. Riley Financial (RILY) and Arbor Realty Trust (ABR), have 30% or more of their shares available for trade in the hands of short sellers, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSurge. That's much higher than the 24% of GameStop's (GME) floated shares controlled by short sellers. The S&P 1500 includes the S&P 500 in addition to the S&P SmallCap 600 and S&P Mid Cap 400 indexes.
Stocks with high short interest are ripe for social media market manipulation. Even a small surge of buying and rally in the shares creates rapid losses for short sellers. The only way to stop the losses from getting larger is for the shorts to buy the stock, which lights up even more of a rally.
The meme investors can do much better than GameStop, though.
GameStop Frenzy Returns
Investors got a flashback to the 2020's meme stock phenomenon on Monday. The online influencer known as Roaring Kitty took to X with a cryptic post about GameStop. GameStop's massive short-selling fueled rally put Roaring Kitty on the map.
And just one post is all it took for struggling shares of GameStop to jump more than 74% to 30.46 a share. The rapid rise carries many of the earmarks of a "short squeeze." A short squeeze happens when investors betting a stock will fall rush to close their bearish bets by buying its shares.
But imagine what could happen with more heavily shorted stocks?
The Most Shorted Stocks
There's no debate over the most-shorted S&P 1500 stock based on float. It's industrial SunPower.
More than 94% of the stock's shares available for trade are controlled by shorts. That's considerably higher than at any other stock in the S&P 1500 or S&P 500. And so far this year, the shorts in this stock are having an easy time of things. The solar-power firm's shares are down more than 40% this year on concerns alternative energy subsidies could be at risk due to the U.S. Presidential election.
It's been much more painful for shorts on financial firm B. Riley. Shares are up more than 67% this year. That's a big problem for the short sellers who control more than 57% of the company's shares available for trading. And at another financial firm, Arbor Realty Trust, nearly 40% of shares are shorted. That stock is down nearly 10% this year.
Roaring Kitty's followers might celebrate Monday's win with GameStop. But it will be interesting to see if the meme stock fire moves to stocks with more dry powder.
Most Shorted S&P 1500 Stocks
Based on shares available for trade (float)
| Company | Ticker | Short % of float | Sector |
|---|
| SunPower | (SPWR) | 94.0% | Industrials |
| B. Riley Financial | (RILY) | 57.2 | Financials |
| Arbor Realty Trust | (ABR) | 40.0 | Financials |
| Trupanion | (TRUP) | 38.1 | Financials |
| Medical Properties Trust | (MPW) | 37.8 | Real Estate |
| Vital Energy | (VTLE) | 34.4 | Energy |
| Kohl's | (KSS) | 33.3 | Consumer Discretionary |
| Medifast | (MED) | 32.1 | Consumer Staples |
| Comstock Resources | (CRK) | 30.7 | Energy |
| Guess? | (GES) | 30.3 | Consumer Discretionary |
| GameStop* | (GME) | 24.0 | Consumer Discretionary |
Sources: S&P Global Market Intelligence, IBD, *-shown for comparison
FAQs
He initially purchased $53,000 worth of GameStop stock in 2019. At the height of the GameStop surge, Gill's stock was valued at $48 million. Gill retreated from public life in 2021, with no indication of what he's doing now.
How much is Keith Gill worth in 2024? ›
If he still holds his 800,000 (split-adjusted) shares of Gamestop, his position would be worth around $32 million as of mid May 2024. Here, Paul Dano, who plays Keith Gill in "Dumb Money," poses with the picture's director, Craig Gillespie in Vegas.
What is GameStop stock frenzy? ›
GameStop surged as much as nearly six times its value in the first two weeks of May, partly fueled by the online return of "Roaring Kitty" Keith Gill, a key figure in the 2021 retail trading frenzy. The stock has since lost 70% of its value up to Friday's close, taking GameStop's market value to $5.82 billion.
What was GameStop's highest stock price? ›
The highest closing price for GameStop (GME) all-time was $86.88, on January 27, 2021. The latest price is $22.06.
Did GameStop reach $500 dollars? ›
GameStop GME, +3.71% , the video-game retailer most associated with the Reddit message board-fueled retail attack on institutional short sellers, touched as high as $500 in premarket trade on Thursday.
How much money was lost on GameStop? ›
In the three days following GameStop's high on May 14, investors lost $13.1 billion, according to analysis from Investor's Business Daily . That's almost twice as much as the company's current market value of $7 billion.
What happened to Roaring Kitty? ›
At one point, on January 28, 2021, shares reached over $500 in pre-market trading before dropping to $483 during trading hours, according to The Street. Gill, 37, is now back after taking a years-long hiatus. He seemingly confirmed his return Sunday on X by posting a photo of a man intensely playing a video game.
Who was the guy behind GameStop? ›
Early life and career. Keith Gill was born on June 8, 1986, to Steven and Elaine Gill, and was raised in Brockton, Massachusetts. He had two siblings, a sister who died unexpectedly in 2020, and a brother.
Who made money from GameStop Shorts? ›
Shares of GameStop jumped from roughly $1 at the start of 2020 to $5 by the end of the year, and then soared to a peak of more than $80 in late January 2021. Gill, who bought thousands of shares of the stock at its bottom, would make millions as amateur traders waged a war against short sellers.
Why did GameStop stock price Skyrocket last week? ›
Both AMC and GameStop surged Monday and Tuesday after Roaring Kitty, the X account linked to 2021 meme stock captain Keith Gill, posted for the first time since 2021, sparking users congregating on social media forums like Reddit's WallStreetBets to pile money into the slumping brick-and-mortar companies.
Why are GameStop trade-in values so low? GameStop buys your games for cheap and resells them for much more. This means you only get a fraction of what your used games are actually worth.
How much of GameStop is shorted? ›
According to the latest available data, which were released on December 14, 2023, approximately 23.3% of GameStop's float is short. This represents 62.66 million shares out of the 267.34 million shares available for public trading.
Who owns the most shares of GameStop? ›
Top Institutional Holders
| Holder | Shares | Date Reported |
|---|
| Vanguard Group Inc | 25.36M | Mar 31, 2024 |
| Blackrock Inc. | 22.62M | Mar 31, 2024 |
| State Street Corporation | 8.28M | Mar 31, 2024 |
| Geode Capital Management, LLC | 4.32M | Mar 31, 2024 |
6 more rowsTop Companies by Stock Price
The most expensive publicly traded share of all time is Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.
What is Keith Gill's net worth? ›
GameStop stock surges 40% as Keith Gill, aka "Roaring Kitty," returns to social media. With Gill boasting a net worth of $45 million, having amassed over $30 million in GameStop profits, it's clear there's wealth to be made in these market swings.
Who owns the most GameStop stock? ›
- Owner Name. Date. Shares Held. ...
- Vanguard Group Inc. 3/31/2024. 25,355,014. ...
- Blackrock Inc. 3/31/2024. 22,619,397. ...
- State Street Corp. 3/31/2024. 8,283,898. ...
- Geode Capital Management, Llc. 3/31/2024. 4,322,330. ...
- Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. 3/31/2024. ...
- Bank Of New York Mellon Corp. 3/31/2024. ...
- Northern Trust Corp. 3/31/2024.
GameStop Market Cap
GameStop has a market cap or net worth of $5.82 billion as of May 24, 2024. Its market cap has decreased by -17.16% in one year.
How much money was made on GME? ›
Compare GME With Other Stocks
| GameStop Annual Revenue (Millions of US $) |
|---|
| 2021 | $5,090 |
| 2020 | $6,466 |
| 2019 | $8,285 |
| 2018 | $8,547 |
12 more rowsShort squeeze is a term used to describe a phenomenon in financial markets where a sharp rise in the price of an asset forces traders who previously sold short to close out their positions. The strong buying pressure “squeezes” the short sellers out of the market.
