AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE:AMC) was the focus, or perhaps the victim, of retail investors just over a year ago. Growth stocks were fired up in general, but there were a few companies in particular that attracted the attention of meme traders. And one of those was AMC.
So, let’s look at what happened to AMC stock just over a year ago, and how much a $1,000 investment is worth just one year later.
Growing, growing, gone
AMC stock received attention from meme investors for a few reasons. Pandemic restrictions were lifting, and meme traders realized the company would likely see an influx of patrons coming back to movie theatres. This was especially true around June 2021, right before the release of summer movies.
There was also news that AMC stock would start accepting cryptocurrency which further attracted the attention of meme investors. Attention that quickly got out of hand.
AMC stock soared 417% in just a few weeks between May and June 2021. While shares then fell back, they quickly came back up in a yo-yo of high share price trading. Unfortunately, it didn’t last.
By the end of the summer, shares of AMC stock were already starting to slump. And it’s only gotten worse in the last few months.
What happened
The market in general is what happened, combined with a loss of attention from meme traders. These traders soon shifted their attention to other companies, causing AMC stock to face a reality check.
By the end of summer, shares had lost over half their value. While there were a few moments of increased activity, overall investors were moving away from growth stocks. And that’s continued to this day.
As of this writing, shares of AMC stock are down 80.21% from those June 2021 highs. In the last year alone, it’s lost 70% of its value. So, if you had invested $1,000 in AMC stock back in September 2021, today it would be worth an insanely low $189.50.
What now
What should investors who are interested in AMC stock do now? Wait. After all, it’s not that AMC is a bad company. Unfortunately, it was the victim of meme traders who fed the stock until it exploded, leaving AMC to pick up the pieces.
So, what about today’s share price? You no longer get access to a dividend, so that’s something to consider. The US$3.88 billion company has over US$10 billion in debt. Still, in its latest quarter, revenue increased to about US$1.16 billion from US$444 million the year before. AMC also brought down its losses from US$344 million to US$121.6 million. So, there are signs of life.
Even so, in this volatile market, shares of AMC stock may only get worse before they get better. It’s likely to be some time before the company will receive encouragement from meme traders, or others for that matter.
Shares of AMC stock were down 5.44% as of this writing.
