AMC Is Set to Report Earnings Today. The Stock Is Up.
···
By Connor Smith
Aug. 9, 2021 12:21 pm ET
Order Reprints
Print Article
Text size
An AMC theater in Chicago.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
AMC Entertainment Holdings stock was rising Monday as investors buckled in for the movie theater firm’s earnings report after the market closes.
Shares of AMC (ticker: AMC) were up 1.5% to $33.19 in early afternoon trading. That could change after the market closes, as options markets imply a post-earnings move of about 10% in either direction. The stock has averaged a move up or down of 8% in the past four quarterly earnings reports.
Analysts forecast the company to report a second-quarter net loss of $436.1 million, according to FactSet. The consensus adjusted net loss estimate is 94 cents. That’s down from a $1.42 per share net loss in the first quarter, and a loss of $5.36 a share in the second quarter of 2020. Analysts forecast sales hit $382.2 million, up from $148 million in the first quarter and $19 million amid shutdowns in the second quarter of 2020.
AMC stock is up 648% in the past 12 months and 1,477% year-to-date. That said, the stock has shed 54% from its peak levels in June. The company’s shares initially surged in January amid a broader rise in highly shorted stocks popular on social media like GameStop (GME).
AMC and GameStop are meme stocks, meaning their daily moves can be erratic due to non-fundamental factors like short seller activity, social media sentiment, and options volume. AMC led a resurgence in meme stocks in May and early June, though shares have fallen in recent weeks.
You’d need to make bold assumptions about the future of entertainment to justify owning the stock at recent levels. The mean analyst price target on FactSet is $5.25 a share, implying 84% downside. On the flip side, AMC hasn’t traded on fundamentals for some time. The earnings report could attract new short sellers, as well as renewed interest in meme stocks on social media.
Write to Connor Smith at connor.smith@barrons.com
