AMC’s new preferred shares, called “APE,” could be used by the company to raise cash down the line.
, the U.S. box office remains well below its pre-pandemic levels. Rival Cineworld, which owns the Regal Cinemas chain, said Monday that it is considering filing for bankruptcy."The creation of the APE Unit provides AMC with a path to raise incremental capital in the equity market. ... We suspect AMC will take advantage of its current share price to lower its debt balance," Citi analyst Jason Bazinet, who has a sell rating on the stock, said in a note to clients on Aug. 15.
In this case, however, the two stocks are different classes. The new APE units trade under the ticker"APE," while the AMC common shares will continue to trade under"AMC." Given AMC's uncertain future, that discrepancy could cause the share prices of the APE units and the AMC stock to diverge.