AMC Entertainment (AMC) shares are surging on hopes its movie theater chain will reopen operations at nearly all its 56 California locations this week.
Two of its flagship locations in Los Angeles will reopen Monday afternoon according to AMC's announcement released Friday. All its remaining 23 movie theaters in Los Angeles County will open back up starting on March 19.
The reopening of these locations is assuming the proper local approvals are in place.
Last week AMC reported a record loss of $4.6 billion for 2020 due to COVID-19 as theaters were forced to shut down. The company has aggressively raised liquidity during the pandemic to stay afloat.
In its latest earnings release, CEO Adam Aron stated, “This past year has presented AMC with the most challenging market conditions in the 100-year history of the company." He went on to highlight vaccinations, reopening of theaters, and more than $1 billion of cash which AMC has on hand.
"Taking these facts together, we have reason to be optimistic about AMC’s ability to get to the other side of this pandemic," stated Aron.
Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group Co. recently reduced its stake in the company, relinquishing a majority stakeholder control. Wanda still maintains two seats on the board of AMC.
The stock is trading at levels it hasn't seen since beginning of February. It's been a Reddit favorite stock, along with GameStop (GME), experiencing bouts of volatility over the last several months. Year-to-date AMC is up more than 500%.
Ines covers the U.S. stock market. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre
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