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AMC Entertainment Raises $300 Million By Selling Stock This Week
The company sold shares into a blistering rally that sent its stock as much as 466% higher for the week, as of Wednesday’s closing high. But on Thursday some of the air came out of the bubble of widely shorted stocks, such as
GameStop,
Bed Bath & Beyond,
and Express, as retail brokerages restricted trading. And it wasn’t clear how much the companies themselves had gained from the rally.
AMC stock declined more than 50% on Thursday. And while the company was able to raise extra cash, it sold its stock at an average of $4.82 a share, well below Wednesday’s close near $20.
U.S. Short Sellers Face Net Loss of $54 Billion So Far This Year
That is according to data provider Ortex.
Brigades of individual investors have been buying stocks that are unpopular on Wall Street, pushing prices higher. That has led to losses for the hedge funds who bet against these companies, in what is known as short selling. Earlier this week, Melvin Capital had to get a capital infusion from two of its peers.
The losses show that while individual investors had a down day on Thursday, they are still winning for the month. GameStop is still up more than 900% so far in 2021, and AMC is up 300%.
Apple’s
Sales Grew 21% in Latest Quarter compared with Previous Year
The tech giant’s quarterly earnings and sales easily beat Wall Street’s forecasts — it posted $111 billion of quarterly revenue and earnings of $1.68 of a share. Analysts said its iPhone revenue was especially strong as consumer demand held up for newer and more expensive phones.
But the stock declined Thursday, falling 3.5%, even though the broader market was up almost 1%. While that could have been because investors were distracted by the crazy trading in smaller stocks, it was more likely a matter of expectations.
Apple itself has been on a tear over the past year, gaining 73% in 12 months. So analysts said that investors have gotten maybe a little too optimistic about the company’s business and were ready to take some profits.
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Write to Alexandra Scaggs at [email protected]
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