AMC is making moves to the moon.
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Movie theater chain AMC saw its stock price skyrocket by more than 90% on Wednesday, sparking memories of GameStop’s meteoric rise back in January. A potent combination of factors — anticipation of the upcoming summer blockbuster season, a big move by one hedge fund, and a new program from AMC to give free popcorn and other perks to traders — has the stock market shaking with trades for the movie theater company.
AMC’s stock price opened on Wednesday at $37.52, a significant increase from its price of $9.71 on May 3. Traders on the WallStreetBets subreddit — who were responsible for the record high GameStop stock price only a few months ago — were all in with the movie theater company as news came out that people betting against the stock, known as short sellers, had lost more than $1 billion. One hedge fund, Mudrick Capital, did the opposite by buying $230 million worth of shares of AMC on Friday and then selling them Wednesday for a hefty profit.
AMC shares ended the day at $65.22, a 95% increase for the day, and are still trading after hours.
On Wednesday, the theater chain also launched AMC Investor Connect. This portal is intended for retail investors who are noninstitutional stock traders like the ones found on the WallStreetBets subreddit. Investors who sign up at the website will get a free popcorn and other benefits while also receiving direct investor communications from the company.
AMC wasn’t the only “meme stock” to see a jump in price today. GameStop ended at $282.24, a 13% increase for the day.