AMC shares seesaw amid dilution concerns; Apple readies for developer event

More chaos ensued this week for AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. shares as the cinema chain took advantage of the current wave of retail investor enthusiasm and filed to sell roughly 11 million shares.

AMC's stock started the week by hitting new highs but zigzagged after the company said it plans to sell up to an additional 11.5 million shares of its class A common stock in a June 3 SEC filing. Citing the stock's recent volatility, AMC included a warning to potential shareholders not to buy the stock "unless you are prepared to incur the risk of losing all or a substantial portion of your investment."

"We believe that the recent volatility and our current market prices reflect market and trading dynamics unrelated to our underlying business, or macro or industry fundamentals, and we do not know how long these dynamics will last," the filing said.

Thus far, the stock's meteoric rise has been fueled largely by chatter on forums like Reddit's WallStreetBets and StockTwits.

The company's stock rose by as much as 139% this week before closing June 3 at $51.34 apiece, up 96.55% for the week to date.

AMC's wild ride appeared to cause some analysts to lose confidence in its competitors, as well.

Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng downgraded Cinemark Holdings Inc. and IMAX Corp. to "sell" from "neutral" this week. The analyst cited pandemic-driven increases in the distribution of studio films through alternative channels, such as direct-to-consumer streaming and home video. The analyst sees the continued rise of these streaming and video services as potential threats to Cinemark's and IMAX's recoveries.

Despite the downgrades, however, Cinemark stock closed June 3 trading at $23.07 each, up 1.81% for the week to date; IMAX shares closed June 3 up 1.48%, at $21.93 apiece.

Pivoting to gaming, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. faltered this week despite an analyst upgrade.

Jefferies analyst Andrew Uerkwitz upgraded the company to "buy" from "hold," with a $231 price target. Uerkwitz cited the video game holding company's recent launch of new titles and content from its biggest studios as future growth drivers.

Nearly all of Take-Two's games outperformed for the just-ended quarter, including basketball title NBA 2K21, the company's CEO Strauss Zelnick said on a recent earnings call. Rockstar Games Inc.'s Grand Theft Auto series also exceeded the company's expectations in fiscal 2021, with Grand Theft Auto Online reaching all-time high participation levels from both new and returning players and setting a new annual record for recurrent consumer spending, the company said.

Shares of Take-Two closed at $177.73 for the week ended June 3, down 4.22% for the week to date.

In tech, Apple Inc. shares waned slightly ahead of the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which kicks off June 7.

In a report, Loup Ventures managing partner Gene Munster said he expects Apple to preview its next mobile operating system, iOS15, which is expected to include an enhanced notification management system that enables users to control their notifications based on their daily activities.

In terms of hardware offerings, Munster anticipates Apple will release two new MacBook Pro models that come equipped with the second iteration of Apple's in-house M1 chip and feature design refreshes.

A long shot announcement, Munster noted, could be a sneak peek of some type of mixed reality smart goggles that blend the real world and virtual world to produce new digital environments for users.

Apple shares closed June 3 down just under 1% for the week to date, at $123.54 apiece.