Keeping It Simple

[eastunder]

Here's the stock that dethroned Apple

https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/02/08/robinhood-new-most-held-stock-not-apple-or-tesla/

But there's a brand-new company that's brushed aside Ford, Tesla, and finally Apple, to become the new most-held stock on the platform, as of Feb. 4: AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC).

No, I'm not kidding. Movie theater chain AMC Entertainment is held by more Robinhood users than any other stock listed on a major U.S. exchange.

If the name rings a bell, it's probably because AMC is the sidekick to GameStop in the Reddit-based retail investor rally we've witnessed in recent weeks. Both GameStop and AMC have high levels of short interest (i.e., investors who want to see their share prices fall). Knowing this, retail investors on the WallStreetBets investing chatroom on Reddit banded together to buy shares and out-of-the-money call options on both companies. In AMC's case, it pushed shares of the company higher by a cool 525% in January. As noted earlier, Robinhood users love momentum stocks.

The interest in AMC has also been partially sparked by the company securing $917 million in funding in late January. It raised $506 million between mid-December and late January by issuing common stock, and secured another $411 million through debt capital. With the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic closing movie theaters or significantly reducing foot traffic, this capital infusion will allow AMC to make it through the winter.