The security is trying to dig itself out of penny stock territory
Stocks linked to a potential economic reopening are having their day in the sun today, bolstered by news that Moderna's (MRNA) experimental COVID-19 vaccine has proven to be 94.5% effective during a late-stage trial. One such stock is AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC), which is up an impressive 16.8% at $3.47 in a bid to dig itself out of penny stock territory.
Last Friday, the shares were attempting to reverse course, snapping a four-day losing streak sparked by rejection at the 100-day moving average. The 20-day moving average, which AMC toppled during last Monday's surge, served as a net for said pullback. For the year, AMC is still down a little over 60%.
This alarming year-to-date deficit has been enough to spook analysts, with seven "hold" ratings and two "strong sell" ratings on the books. What's more, the 12-month consensus price target stands at just $2.15 -- a 27.6% discount to last Friday's close.
The stock has been heavily shorted of late, too. In fact, short interest rose 11.1% in the last two reporting periods, and now the 23.89 million shares sold short make up and eyebrow-raising 45.9% of the stock's available float, or two days to cover at AMC's average daily pace of trading.