AMC Entertainment Holdings stock has seen a surge during the past month due to a retail investing frenzy that has resulted in a number of so-called “meme” stocks showing a drastic increase in price and volume. Insiders of the company that include directors and executives have sold a combined $13 million worth of the stock in the month of June, with more selling sure to follow.
AMC began the year trading at just above $2 and has seen its price go up nearly 3,000% with a $59.04 market closing price on Tuesday. A popular choice of the group known as wallstreetbets on reddit. The volume is coming from retail investors that have formed a nationwide band with the purpose of giving the biggest hedge funds nightmares they will not be able to forget for years.
Quite a few hedge funds are exposed to large sized short positions on the stock which has backfired in the worst way. One example being Mudrick Capital, which is likely under a loss of tens of millions as AMC continues to surge through price records.
Ten insiders have also found an opportunity to take advantage of the astronomical price, with a total of 238,534 shares being sold by AMC insiders for a total close to $13 million.
John D. McDonald, executive vice president of U.S. operations, sold 30,000 shares on June 3 for $1.7 million. He now owns 93,739 shares, according to documents filed with the SEC. McDonald sold 50,000 shares in April for $496,000, an average per-share price of $9.92.
AMC director Howard W. “Hawk” Koch, Jr. also took advantage of the opportunity. Hawk has now sold a total of 29,656 shares on June 7 and 8 for a total of $1.6 million. He now owns 17,722 shares.
Anthony J. Saich, also an AMC director, sold 25,709 shares on June 3 and 8 for a total of $1.4 million. Saich, who heads the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University, now owns 17,722 shares. Other big sellers in June include Carla C. Chavarria, chief human resources officer, who sold 40,346 shares on June 3 for $2.5 million, and AMC director Gary Locke, a former ambassador to China and Washington state governor, who sold 34,293 shares on June 3 for $1.7 million. Chavarria now owns 44,183 shares, and Locke now owns 19,565 shares.
