Chewy Stock Tumbles Further Following Thursday’s ‘Roaring Kitty’ Spike

Chewy (CHWY) shares moved sharply lower Friday as some investors decided the meme stock hero known as “Roaring Kitty” wasn’t signaling interest in the pet supply retailer.

Shares of Chewy skyrocketed as much as 34% on Thursday after Roaring Kitty, whose real name is Keith Gill, posted a picture of a cartoon dog on his X account, a move that was initially interpreted as a sign he was pushing the stocks. As investors determined that might not be the case, the shares plunged.

Chewy’s shares were down about 8% in mid-afternoon trading Friday, Shares of rival Petco Health and Wellness (WOOF), which also gained after the Roaring Kitty post on Thursday, rose another 12% on Friday.

Roaring Kitty Drove Fresh Meme Stock Frenzy in May

Gill, one of the key drivers of the 2021 meme stock craze, has a knack for roiling the markets. After disappearing from social media for three years, he kicked off a fresh meme stock frenzy with a May post on X indicating that he was back in action.

A big beneficiary was GameStop (GME), which saw its shares soar. A month later, Gill posted what appeared to show a large position in the video game retailer, driving up shares again. Later, when he held a livestream event to discuss the stock, investors seemed unimpressed.