Lawyer and activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced via his X account the purchase of GameStop Corporation (NYSE:GME) shares on May 21, joining the meme stock movement popular among retail traders since 2021. This movement saw renewed interest recently with the return of Roaring Kitty on social media.
What Happened: Meme stocks like GameStop and AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE:AMC) experienced a surge in interest and volatility last week after Roaring Kitty, aka Keith Gill, returned to the social media platform X.
"My administration will support the Ape retail rebellion and enact aggressive Wall Street reforms. To match action with words, I just invested $24,000 in GameStop from the fees I earned from suing Monsanto for their knowingly poisoning our soil and causing cancer," Kennedy stated on X last week.
On May 21, the 2024 presidential candidate posted that he bought $24,000 worth of GameStop shares to support the movement. At the market's opening price of $22.24 per share, Kennedy's purchase equated to approximately 1,079 shares.
Since Kennedy's purchase at the opening price of $22.24 on May 21, GameStop's stock has declined to $19 on Monday's close. This represents a decrease of approximately 14.6% in the stock price. As of now, Kennedy's initial $24,000 investment in GameStop has decreased in value to approximately $20,501.
Why It's Important: A push to ban members of Congress from buying and selling stocks and options continues to gain steam, with potential red flags over trades.
Presidents and presidential candidates often don't hold individual stock positions. The position from Kennedy could represent one of the biggest validations of the meme stock movement by a politician.
Data tracked by Benzinga showed only one member of Congress traded GameStop and AMC stock over the last two years.
Price Action: GameStop last traded at $19, up 3.71% on Monday's close. In after-hours trading, the stock rose further to $21.45, up 12.89%. However, the stock has seen a significant decline from its peak of $48.75 on May 14, according to the data from Benzinga Pro.
This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
