Where the company was once staring down bankruptcy, AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) has had such a reversal of fortune that it is both receiving newfound funding and exploring increasing that funding thanks to the r/WallStreetBets subreddit on the social forum platform Reddit, whose recent surge of coordinates amateur trading has gripped the market.
r/WallStreetBets' coordinated trading frenzy has become a captivating event unlike any other. The coordinated trading surge from the subreddit has driven the worth of several companies and some cryptocurrencies up as users (ranging from amateurs who began trading to join the trend to professionals who have been trading for years) utilize the stock market to wage war on hedge funds that had taken up short positions against several companies, primarily GameStop (NYSE: GME).
AMC, which just a few months ago was forced to consider bankruptcy, was another company picked by the subreddit. The theater chain found itself at the center of a massive buying frenzy last week, more than doubling its share price and keeping it on an upward trend into this week. The rally has been so beneficial to the theater chain that its debtor, Silver Lake, was able to cash out by converting its bonds into shares. Silver Lake's cashout was valued at $713 million. With a large debt now cleared, AMC has considerably more breathing room.
Last week's surge in total netted AMC around $304.8 million, entirely from sold shares. In addition to the just under $1 billion the firm raised last year, AMC's financials are looking reasonably healthy considering the drastically reduced business the firm has had. The firm is now looking for new ways to capitalize on its stronger position, such as additional stock sales to reap the rewards of its better share price.
Looking at AMC's performance over the past week, all we can see is absolute chaos, with massive price fluctuations over the course of several days before settling into a more stable trajectory on Monday. r/WallStreetBets rally began on Jan 27, driving AMC up 306% to $20.30 from its previous close of $5. Prices fluctuated heavily over the new few days between a low of $7.51 and the opening surge, before settling into the $14 range on Monday.