Citron Research founder and short seller Andrew Left returned to Benzinga for a live interview Thursday to discuss video game store and retail trader favorite GameStop Corporation (NYSE:GME), which again saw heavy trading volatility this week.
What Happened: An interview Left did with Benzinga in 2021 was featured in several documentaries centered on the GameStop short squeeze storyline.
While Left played a key role in the battle of short sellers against GameStop in 2021, he was not featured in a book called "The Antisocial Network: The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees," written by Ben Mezrich.
"I didn't speak to him when he wrote the book," Left said of Mezrich. "The whole story was told poorly. It wasn't fair."
Left said he disagrees with the portrayal of short sellers in Mezrich's book.
"The story still goes down as if the short sellers were the bad guys."
Mezrich's book was turned into a major motion picture from Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY), "Dumb Money" with Paul Dano playing Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty.
Left said he's skeptical that Roaring Kitty is the reason for the trading activity in GameStop this week and told Benzinga that Roaring Kitty wasn't the reason GameStop shares rose in 2021.
The Citron Research founder said the book and movie had to attribute the move to someone.
"The rest is movie folklore."
Related Link: Who Is Roaring Kitty? Why Does His Return To Social Media Matter For GameStop Stock?
Why It's Important: The movie grossed $13.9 million domestically and $20.7 million worldwide, according to data from BoxOfficeMojo. The film also featured actors including Pete Davidson, Vincent D'Onofrio, America Ferrera, Seth Rogen, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan and Nick Offerman.
The film was later released on streaming platform Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX). It had a surge in popularity in its initial release and may have contributed to a meme cryptocurrency based on GameStop trading higher.
GME Price Action: GameStop shares are down 29% to $29.84 on Thursday versus a 52-week trading range of $9.95 to $64.83. New 52-week highs were set on both Monday and Tuesday.
Andrew Left speaks with Benzinga on Thursday, May 16, 2024.