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But just as quickly as the price shot up, it plunged. GameStop shares closed at $18.32 on Thursday, down more than 60 percent from their peak. In just a little over a week, much of the billions of dollars in market value that the company had gained was lost.

GameStop’s wild ride can be traced to Keith Gill, the trader known as “Roaring Kitty,” who returned to social media on May 12 after a nearly three-year hiatus.

Gill led the “meme stock” craze that inflated GameStop’s stock in 2021. And he led the smaller market-shaking craze this month.

Meme stocks are shares that surge in price for reasons other than their company’s performance. The prices are often pushed up by banter and social media posts on forums like Reddit and YouTube, the platforms where Gill rose to prominence.

Many who trade meme stocks have a specific goal: causing headaches for Wall Street traders they see as predatory. Hedge funds, which often bet against embattled companies, can lose millions of dollars when poor performing companies unexpectedly go up in value.

Retail traders with less market savvy stand to make thousands or even millions of dollars. But the rally is typically short-lived, so those who don’t pull their money out can lose big, too.