AMC has soared in recent weeks. One former majority shareholder missed out on a $1 billion payday.
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While individual investors have been scooping up AMC Entertainment Holdings (ticker: AMC) as part of the meme trade in recent weeks, insiders have been offloading the stock. That includes a former majority shareholder that has now almost completely sold out—losing out on more than $1 billion in its haste.
According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wanda America Entertainment sold 30,445,290 AMC shares between May 13 and May 18 at an average selling price of $14.22, for a total of $426.9 million.
While that’s a tidy sum for the division of the Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group, it could have profited more by waiting. AMC lost nearly 18% on Thursday, but at that $51.34 closing price, the stock sale would have netted some $1.56 billion, $1.1 billion more than Wanda’s actual sale. Wanda couldn’t be reached for comment, but in a statement it called the sale part of a strategy of “focusing on the domestic” business.
Wanda sold two other blocs of stock in February and March, and retains 10,000 voting shares. At the end of 2020, it held more than 47% of the stock’s voting power.
Regulatory filings show that a number of AMC insiders sold shares this year, including its chief financial officer, who unloaded more than 10% of his holdings as part of a regular trading plan. Six executives sold on June 3, at average prices ranging from $43.54 to $62.57. No insiders made meaningful purchases in 2021. AMC couldn’t be reached for comment. B
–Connor Smith contributed to this report
Write to Teresa Rivas at [email protected]
