A surge in trading activity involving near-term GameStop options contracts on Wednesday hinted to some market participants that Keith Gill, also known as Roaring Kitty, may have trimmed his recently-revealed options position in the company.
Gill, a prominent figure in the 2021 meme-stock craze, disclosed a substantial holding of GameStop stock and options via a Reddit screenshot on June 2. The screenshot indicated ownership of 120,000 GameStop June 21 call options with a strike price of $20, acquired at $5.6754 per contract, totaling $68.1 million. It also showed ownership of 5 million GameStop shares valued at $115.7 million as of June 2.
On Wednesday, approximately 93,000 of these June call options were traded, often in large blocks exceeding 5,000 contracts.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm whether these contracts were sold or if Gill was directly involved in the transactions.
Based on trading volume on Wednesday, these contracts traded at an average price of $7.65, according to Trade Alert data. Many trades occurred below the bid price, suggesting potential efforts by a seller to unload contracts, as indicated by Trade Alert data.
“It appears he is closing his position,” commented Chris Murphy, co-head of derivatives strategy at Susquehanna International Group. “Although he hasn’t completed the closure, he likely now has enough liquidity to exercise the remainder if he chooses.”
Overall, GameStop options volume surged to 1.2 million contracts on Wednesday, a 66% increase from the stock’s average daily options volume over the past month, according to Trade Alert data.
Gill’s options position has experienced significant fluctuations recently, with its value soaring to as much as $341 million before briefly turning negative to $7.5 million on Tuesday.
