AMC asks NYSE and FINRA to ‘look closely’ at the trading of its stock

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. has asked the New York Stock Exchange and FINRA to look closely at the trading of its stock, according to CEO Adam Aron.

“Many of you, and we, are aware that AMC Entertainment has been on ‘The Threshold List’ for 3+ weeks, indicating a number of FTD’s,” Aron tweeted late Tuesday. “Some of you may be pleased to learn that we have contacted both FINRA and the NYSE asking that they both look closely at the trading of our stock.”

A threshold security is defined as one, where for at least 0.5% of the issuer’s total shares outstanding, transactions have failed to deliver (failed to clear) for five consecutive settlement days at a registered clearing agency of 10,000 shares or more per security.

See Now: Why naked short selling has suddenly become a hot topic

Failure to deliver, or FTD, can be associated with naked short selling, where investors don’t bother borrowing the stock first and simply sell shares with a promise to deliver them at a later date. When that promise is not fulfilled, it’s known as FTD.

AMC’s
AMC,
+0.75%

stock, which closed down 3.8% Tuesday, rose 0.5% before market open on Wednesday. The company’s stock has fallen 47.7% in 2023, compared with the S&P 500 index’s
SPX,
+0.02%

gain of 3.8%.

Last week the movie theater chain and meme stock darling reported a loss for a 14th consecutive quarter and fourth consecutive year.

Related: AMC stock tumbles after 14th consecutive quarterly loss, fourth straight year in the red

AMC announced in January a special meeting of shareholders on March 14 to increase the number of AMC authorized shares from just over 524 million to 550 million and authorize a 1-for-10 reverse split of the company’s common stock, converting AMC Preferred Equity 
APE,
+0.57%

units into shares of common stock. The move is part of the company’s ongoing battle to eliminate debt, but now faces court proceedings.

“We believe such litigation is without merit,” Aron said, during the conference call to discuss the results. “We will vigorously defend our position in this matter.”

Over the past two years, AMC has been on a roller-coaster ride that took it from beleaguered pandemic victim to meme-stock phenomenon. AMC used the steep rise in its share price to tap into equity and debt markets, raising $917 million in January 2021. 

Related: What’s next for AMC? After Q4 beat, focus shifts to key shareholder vote.

Of seven analysts surveyed by FactSet, three have a hold rating and four have a sell rating for AMC.

Additional reporting by Ciara Linnane and Jeremy C. Owens.

Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/amc-asks-nyse-and-finra-to-look-closely-at-the-trading-of-its-stock-e54c2c7e?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo