At one point during the trading day, it surged nearly 29%! Chewy becomes the new favorite of retail investors in the US stock market
The stock price of Chewy, the American online pet food retailer, surged nearly 29% after Keith Gil disclosed his passive 6.6% stake in the company, but later fell back and closed down 6%. Keith Gil, known as the "leading brother" of American retail investors, posted a cartoon image featuring a dog on social media, triggering a brief spike in the stock prices of Chewy and Petco Health and Wellness. Chewy's stock price has risen by about 70% since early May, but is still 79% below its peak in 2021. Market interest in shorting Chewy has increased, with short interest accounting for over 17% of the outstanding shares
According to the Zhitong Finance and Economics APP, the US online pet food retailer Chewy (CHWY.US) surged nearly 29% intraday on Monday, as Keith Gil, known as the "leader of US retail investors," disclosed his passive stake of 6.6% in the company. However, the stock later gave back its gains, ending down 6%.
It is understood that the shareholding information disclosed on the official website of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that Keith Gil owns approximately 9 million shares of Chewy's Class A stock, totaling about $245 million based on last Friday's closing price. Last week, Keith Gil posted a cartoon image featuring a dog on social media platform X, causing brief spikes in the stock prices of Chewy and Petco Health and Wellness (WOOF.US). Data shows that since early May, Chewy's stock price has risen by about 70%, but is still 79% below its peak in 2021.
Steve Sosnick, Chief Strategist at Interactive Brokers, said, "This changes the game. Having a large enough position to prove the validity of a trade is very different from conveying trading signals through mysterious emojis."
Keith Gill, who previously fueled the "retail investors vs. Wall Street" battle and pumped up the stock price of GameStop (GME.US), returned to social media in May, sparking a rally in various meme stocks including GameStop. GameStop quickly capitalized on this by raising over $3 billion through issuing shares in the market. However, Keith Gill was sued last Friday in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, for allegedly orchestrating a "pump and dump" scheme involving GameStop stock.
Market interest in shorting Chewy has also increased, a common trait among meme stocks including GameStop. Data from S3 Partners shows that short interest as a percentage of Chewy's float has risen to over 17%.
It is worth noting that GameStop and Chewy share another common point. GameStop's CEO, Ryan Cohen, is the founder and former CEO of Chewy, who facilitated PetSmart's acquisition of Chewy in 2017 and its subsequent IPO in 2019.
Arun Sundaram, Vice President and Senior Stock Analyst at CFRA Research, said, "Compared to GameStop, Chewy may be a better meme stock trade because the company is still in the early stages of growth and has recently reached a turning point in profitability and free cash flow.
"If there is such a saying, this may be a 'safer' meme stock trading."
Chewy's options trading also fluctuates. The implied volatility of call options is higher than that of put options, indicating that investors' bullish sentiment continues, especially for contracts expiring in the coming weeks. However, the total trading volume of put options is expected to reach the highest single-day level since December 2021, indicating a weakening market enthusiasm