A twist in the tale at struggling cinema chain AMC

American cinema chain AMC may have secured a new lease of life now that it has become the new GameStop. Matthew Partridge reports.

AMC cinema
AMC is weighed down by debt and leases
(Image credit: © ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Normally, the first week of June would see the summer blockbuster season in full swing, says Lex in the Financial Times. This year however, “the blockbuster is the cinema”. AMC Entertainment Holdings has become the latest “meme stock” – a stock that suddenly becomes fashionable among individual investors, with word of mouth and social-media hype, rather than fundamentals, underpinning interest. GameStop is the classic recent example.

AMC’s shares have surged by around 465% in the past month. Distressed debt trader Jason Mudrick bought $230m of stock from the company last week “only to flip it within hours and lock in a profit of perhaps $30m”. Shortly afterwards AMC shares doubled again, “aided by the offer of free popcorn for retail investors”. The group then decided to cash in on the surge by selling more stock.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri