Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. on Monday, as the stock’s “meme” kick from last month’s fall continued, after Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter doubled its price target ahead of the company’s earnings report, announcing growing hopes across the post-pandemic environment.
Pachter raised its target for the stock to $ 5.00 from $ 2.50, but that target was 38% below Friday’s closing price of $ 8.05. He reaffirmed AMC’s neutral level since March 2020, however, saying it was “difficult to be positive here, despite rising business optimism.” ”
AMC Theater Chain Stock,
accumulated 4.8% in pre-sale trading. The stock rose 0.5% last week, to post a third straight weekly gain. It has risen 44.0% during that streak, followed by a two-week dive, 57.8%.
The stock had rocked 525.5% in January, including a 301.2% jump to a two-year higher closing rate of $ 19.90 on January 27, as part of the trading frenzy that followed the WallStreetBets Reddit forum, which targeting severely shortened stocks.
Read also: Reddit CEO: WallStreetBets ‘revealed a gap’ between financiers and outsiders.
Wedbush’s Pachter said it believes AMC has taken the right reopening measures, such as installing high-quality air filtration systems, implementing improved cleaning protocols and reducing seating to allow social distance. He said that has allowed the company to boost presence over the past several months, despite many of its markets being closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
In addition, Pachter said AMC has been able to build enough liquidity through debt and equity offers to survive through the middle of the summer without a major box office upgrade.
“However, we believe that it will take AMC years before it can revisit its previous growth strategy and restore the growing debt mountain,” Pachter wrote in note to clients.
AMC expects to report fourth quarter results after Wednesday’s closing bell. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect the company to move to a $ 3.36 per-share loss from earnings of 35 cents a share in the previous year, while revenues are expected to fall. 90% drop to $ 142.3 million.
While FactSet’s consensus for a per-share loss fell from $ 3.70 at the end of February, the revenue forecast has dropped from $ 155.1 million.
Of the 8 analysts surveyed by FactSet, one level equals a neutral rating and the other half has a sales ranking. The average price target is $ 2.51.
AMC stock has climbed 279.7% year to date, and has gained 77.7% over the last 12 months. In contrast, the S&P 500 SPX index,
handled 2.3% this year and picked up 29.3% over the past year.