Despite the lack of real news, Unity Software (U) stock went on a tear Thursday morning. It seems to be the result of the last tweet of Keith Gill, an investor who also goes by the name “Roaring Kitty”.
Gill published a short clip on X, formerly known as Twitter, with comedian Dave Chappelle imitating the late musician Rick James, who recorded a song called “Unity,” on his “ Chappelle Show .” Some investors seem to have taken this as a cue to invest in Unity Software, which has seen its stock drop more than 42% over the past 12 months.
The stock rose 17% in pre-market trading on Thursday. By just after 2 pm ET, those gains were largely erased, and the stock was up nearly 5%.
Such short spikes in the share price are characteristic of so-called meme stocks: shares of companies that become very popular online and are traded feverishly by retail and individual investors, sending prices soaring regardless of operating results or real prospects of the company.
It’s not clear whether Gill’s intention is to spread gains to Unity’s stock price. But it’s far from the only time one of his cryptic social media posts has driven big stock moves.
Earlier this year, Gill helped lead big drives at Chewy (BOW) and Petco (WOOF) stock after posting a cartoon photo of a dog on X on Thursday afternoon. Within minutes, shares of pet brands Chewy and Petco soared, Quartz reported in June.
Chewy, the online pet supply company founded by the current GameStop (GME) CEO Ryan Cohen, rose about 30% in intraday trading after the post, while Petco recorded a brief peak of 12%. Those gains, as is typical with meme stocks, were later largely erased.
Gill gained national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic for his bullish analysis of GameStop on Reddit, where he goes by the username “DeepF-ingValue.” He led the first short run of the video game retailer’s stock in early 2021, which saw its shares rise more than 1,000% in a matter of weeks.
In May, he started a renewed meme stock frenzy around GameStop stock when it broke its three-year social media hiatus by posting on X. On December 26, Gill shared an image of a wrapped Christmas present on X, sparking a volatile day of trading for Gamestop stock.
GameStop shares gained 2% in pre-market trading Thursday. A handful of memecoin cryptocurrencies based around the company, such as GmeStop and GameStop Coin, have spiked.
Correction: This post has been updated to show more clearly that the clip shared by Keith Gill is of comedian Dave Chapelle impersonating Rick James, not James himself.
https://media.zenfs.com/en/quartz.com/a1479d6665945c4b2a0fe66afd4d4201
2025-01-02 19:10:00
