AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. shares continued to… gained for the second straight day on Friday, offering investors in the original meme stock some respite after a string of weak losses.
AMC AMC shares,
Which hit a series of record lows recently, ended the session up 1.8%. The movie theater chain ended a six-day losing streak on Thursday, posting its biggest gain in more than a month. The stock has fallen 11 of the last 14 trading days.
Related: AMC stock snapped a six-day losing streak and posted its biggest gain in more than a month
Three years ago, AMC went from beleaguered pandemic victim to meme phenomenon. With support from the WallStreetBets forum on Reddit, AMC leveraged a sharp rise in its stock price to capitalize on equity and debt markets, raising $917 million in January 2021. In 2022, the company launched a special dividend for AMC's preferred stock unit, and in 2023 completed the conversion of APEs into shares Ordinary AMC, along with a 1-for-10 reverse split of common stock. Investors who converted AMC into meme shares often refer to themselves as “monkeys” or “monkey nation.”
In December, AMC completed its latest stock offering on the market, raising approximately $350 million. The move is part of the company's efforts to reduce its debt load, which reached more than $5 billion in 2022. The most recent stock offering, which was launched on November 9, led to debt buybacks or debt exchanges for shares and reduced the company's liabilities by about $62.3. AMC said: $1 million.
Related: AMC hits another record closing high, reflecting the demise of its “meme stock” status
AMC has capitalized on the popularity of concert films from big-name stars like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift in recent months, with “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” breaking box office records after its Oct. 12 opening. While discussing AMC's third-quarter results in November, CEO Adam Aron said the success of those films could pave the way for more concert films in AMC theaters.
Earlier this month, Aaron expressed the company's “eternal gratitude” to Swift, as the singer-songwriter's concert film broke another record.
Related: Stocktwits says 'jaded' investors are contributing to the decline in AMC stock
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on New Year's Eve, Aaron also criticized “prophets of doom” who predicted to see the company's demise in 2023. “AMC is still here, still innovating, and still blazing new paths.” he wrote.
AMC stock is down 90.7% over the past 52 weeks, compared to the S&P 500's SPX gain of 21.8%.
