US business news sources Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and CNBC are reporting than online brokerage E*Trade is considering a ban of meme stock trader Keith Gill, over recent activity in shares of GameStop (NYSE:GME).
Keith Gill was at the center of the meme stock craze in 2019 and 2020 goes by DeepF****ingValue on Reddit, but had not been active on the platform since 2021. (He still posts actively on Twitter under the moniker @TheRoaringKitty, with more than 1.4 million Followers). He reappeared on Sunday on Reddit, posting a screenshot from his E*Trade account showing a significant position in both shares and call options of GameStop. Mr. Gill’s 5 million GME shares were worth $115.7 million based on Friday’s close of $23.14, and 120,000 June 21 2024 $20 call options were valued at $65.7 million.
On Monday GME stock soared by 21% closing at $28, with the shares worth $140 million and the options nearly doubling in value to $120 million, leaving Mr. Gill’s E*Trade account showing an $85 million profit.
While Keith Gill seems to have been fully transparent with his holdings, the WSJ and CNBC are reporting that E*Trade, now a unit of investment giant Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), is considering banning him after growing concerned about potential stock manipulation. According to the reports E*Trade is having internal discussions on the matter, but hasn’t yet reached a decision.
We will continue to follow this story as it develops.
