AMC Theatres has launched the website Investor Connect to target retail investors who support the online WallStreetBets group on Reddit.
The mega cinema chain, which has seen stock surges fueled by online traders, will offer updates and special offers — like a free large popcorn and invitations to special screenings — to casual traders after they sign up to Investor Connect.
The consumer outreach initiative is part of an ongoing bid by AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron to target online small investors encouraged by Reddit’s “r/wallstreetbets” community, TikTok and other social platforms to pump up AMC’s share price.
AMC’s Reddit popularity is juicing its share price, which jumped another 20 percent, or $6.34, to $38.59 in pre-market trading Wednesday, after the cinema chain said it raised $230.5 million in fresh cash via a share sale to hedge fund Mudrick Capital, which subsequently unloaded the stake. AMC Investor Connect also comes ahead of the company’s annual meeting of shareholders planned for July 29.
Aron added in a statement Wednesday: “During my five-plus year tenure as CEO at AMC, I’ve taken great pride in the relationships I have forged with AMC’s owners. With AMC Investor Connect, that effort in relationship building will continue apace even if our shareholders now number in the millions. After all, these people are the owners of AMC, and I work for them.”
AMC said over 80 percent of its 3.2 million individual investors as of March 11 were retail shareholders.
