Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC)

Key Points

• AMC Entertainment experienced a significant increase in call options trading, with 102,108 call options purchased, marking a 45% rise compared to its average volume.
• Recent analyst ratings for AMC show a mix of opinions, with one "Buy," five "Hold," and two "Sell" ratings, while the consensus rating stands at "Reduce" with a target price of $3.33.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors increased their stakes in AMC, including Northern Trust Corp and Vanguard Group, which now holds over 42 million shares valued at approximately $122.9 million.

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AMC - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 102,108 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 45% compared to the average volume of 70,187 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of AMC Entertainment in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wedbush raised shares of AMC Entertainment from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $3.00 to $4.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AMC Entertainment from $2.60 to $2.70 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AMC Entertainment from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AMC Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $3.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMC. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in AMC Entertainment by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,540,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,162,000 after buying an additional 222,375 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AMC Entertainment during the 1st quarter worth about $2,736,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in AMC Entertainment by 272.7% during the 1st quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 625,783 shares of the company's stock worth $1,796,000 after buying an additional 457,856 shares during the last quarter. Brio Consultants LLC purchased a new position in AMC Entertainment during the 1st quarter worth approximately $281,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AMC Entertainment by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,815,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,882,000 after purchasing an additional 5,961,337 shares during the last quarter. 28.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMC Entertainment Price Performance

AMC Entertainment stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $2.82. The stock had a trading volume of 21,554,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,624,737. AMC Entertainment has a 52 week low of $2.45 and a 52 week high of $5.56. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.15 and a beta of 1.25. The business's 50 day moving average price is $2.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.97.

AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.43) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 35.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AMC Entertainment will post -1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AMC Entertainment

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the theatrical exhibition business. It owns, operates, or has interests in theatres in the United States and Europe. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Leawood, Kansas.

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