A cartoon on X just sent GameStop shares surging 72%

Roaring Kitty, the former trader legally known as Keith Gill who helped stoke the meme stock frenzy in 2021, is back online.

The surprise social media return of the trader who helped ignite the meme stock frenzy in 2021 sent GameStop shares skyrocketing Monday. The surge had nothing to do with the troubled company’s fundamentals — and everything to do with a cartoon of a gamer that the trader, nicknamed Roaring Kitty, shared on X. GameStop shares surged 71.8% on Monday after the account run by Keith Gill shared a meme on X, marking its first post in three years. The shares skyrocketed by more than 110% earlier and were halted for volatility several times on Monday morning. The image depicts a man leaning forward in a chair with a video game console in hand. GameStop had posted the same cartoon in February, but with a red arrow and chair. In Gill’s cartoon, they are blue. The meme is interpreted to convey, “when things get serious,” according to Know Your Meme. Gill did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. Gill, who goes by “Deepf—-ingvalue” on Reddit, was one of the leading forces on the WallStreetBets subreddit that drove eye-popping returns in GameStop’s stock. The traders bid up shares of the retailer targeted short-sellers, who aim to turn profits on a stock by borrowing shares, selling them and returning them after purchasing them at a lower price. The retail investors sent other stocks soaring in 20221, including AMC Entertainment and Bed Bath & Beyond. They are now collectively known as meme stocks, or shares of companies with a cult following that see wide swings based on their popularity among trader communities on social media rather than their fundamentals.