AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AMC) stock rose Tuesday as retail investors responded to comments made by CNBC’s Jim Cramer, treating his critical assessment of the company as a signal to buy.
In a segment published on Monday, Cramer said AMC’s turnaround narrative was undermined by its debt levels. “When the meme stock guys pushed AMC, the movie theater chain, as a turnaround play, I knew the stock would have a limited shelf life because the balance sheet was heinous,” Cramer said. He added that the company “needed to borrow too much money to get back into growth mode.”
Social Media Reaction Drives Buying
On Monday, an X account called DegenLife, which describes itself as representing retail “apes” who hold AMC shares, posted a screenshot of Cramer’s remarks with the caption “Something Big Is Coming.” On Tuesday, a parody account referencing actor Ryan Reynolds wrote, “Thanks,” Cramer “for the signal to buy buy buy more” AMC.
AMC is widely considered one of the original and most prominent “meme stocks,” a term used for companies whose stock prices are driven by viral internet hype and retail investor speculation rather than underlying business fundamentals.
The ‘Inverse Cramer’ Trading Strategy
The reaction reflects a long-running retail trading theory known as “Inverse Cramer,” in which traders bet against his on-air calls, citing past instances where his commentary preceded short-term price reversals.
Cramer contrasted AMC with Amazon.com Inc. and Tesla Inc., noting those companies “borrowed vast sums of money when they were getting started” because “they both have massive opportunities in front of them.” He said AMC, by comparison, was “borrowing money just to stay afloat,” and advised investors to “examine the balance sheet and the cash flows” before investing in speculative stocks.
Technical Analysis
From a trend perspective, AMC is still trying to repair longer-term damage (down 39.19% over the past 12 months), but the intermediate setup has improved since the golden cross in July, when the 50-day SMA moved above the 200-day SMA. The stock is now trading 9.2% above its 50-day SMA and 9.5% above its 200-day SMA, which supports the idea that the bigger downtrend has at least paused.
Near-term, the stock is trading 4.4% below its 20-day SMA, which often acts like "gravity" in a developing rebound and can cap price until buyers prove they can hold gains for more than a few sessions. The 20-day EMA at $1.97 is closer and may be the first area traders watch for pullback support if today’s strength cools.
Momentum is best framed through RSI, which sits at 51.39—neutral and consistent with a stock that’s rebounding but not yet stretched.
AMC Stock Price Activity: AMC Entertainment shares were up 7.49% at $2.01 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Photo: IgorGolovniov / Shutterstock
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