AMC Tricks Shorts, Options Traders Join The Game

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc AMC gapped down 9% Thursday morning but bulls rushed in and bought the dip. By Thursday afternoon, AMC rallied from the $39.40 area and tested a resistance level at the $48 mark.

The stock had been trading sideways in a tightening range since reaching a June 2 high of $72.62 before breaking down bearishly on Wednesday. In the premarket Thursday morning, Jim Cramer took to Twitter to call on the Security and Exchange Commission to stop the games he says are happening within a number of Reddit’s favorite stocks.

It’s not clear who Cramer believes is playing games with AMC and other similar stocks such as GameStop Corporation GME and despite trying to gain the social media friendship of the “apes," his comments have typically created more backlash.

See Also: How to Buy AMC Stock Right Now

On Thursday institutions continued to join in on the fun and purchased over $3.08 million worth of bullish AMC call contracts. Institutions have been hammering options contracts for weeks on the stock and don’t look to be letting up anytime soon. One institution chose a strike price of $100 and an expiry of July 16 indicating they believe another big move is in the very near future.

Why It’s Important: When a sweep order occurs, it indicates the trader wanted to get into a position quickly and is anticipating an imminent large move in stock price. A sweeper pays market price for the call or put option instead of placing a bid, which sweeps the order book of multiple exchanges to fill the order immediately.

These types of call option orders are usually made by institutions, and retail investors can find watching for sweepers useful because it indicates “smart money” has entered into a position.

The AMC Entertainment Option Trades: Below is a look at the notable options alerts, courtesy of Benzinga Pro:

• At 11:59 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 341 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $46 expiring on July 9. The trade represented a $77,407 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2.27 per option contract.
• At 11:59 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 300 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $43 expiring on July 9. The trade represented a $126,900 bullish bet for which the trader paid $4.23 per option contract.
• At 12:07 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 300 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $47 expiring on July 9. The trade represented a $48,900 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.63 per option contract.
• At 12:11 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 500 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $44 expiring on July 9. The trade represented a $200,000bullish bet for which the trader paid $4 per option contract.
• At 12:11 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 398 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $50 expiring on July 9. The trade represented a $41,790 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.05 per option contract.
• At 12:12 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 337 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $46.50 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $168,500 bullish bet for which the trader paid $5 per option contract.
• At 12:12 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 1539 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $46.50 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $809,244 bullish bet for which the trader paid $5.08 per option contract.
• At 12:12 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 315 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $50 expiring on July 9. The trade represented a $33,390 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.06 per option contract.
• At 12:14 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 624 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $100 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $27,456 bullish bet for which the trader paid 44 cents per option contract.
• At 12:17 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 204 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $46.50 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $95,880 bullish bet for which the trader paid $4.70 per option contract.
• At 12:17 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 226 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $46.50 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $105,090 bullish bet for which the trader paid $4.65 per option contract.
• At 12:26 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 451 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $50 expiring on July 9. The trade represented a $49,610 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.10 per option contract.
• At 12:27 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 310 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $50 expiring on July 9. The trade represented a $34,410 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.11 per option contract.
• At 12:39 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 256 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $50 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $48,900 bullish bet for which the trader paid $4.59 per option contract.
• At 12:42 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 201 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $44 expiring on July 9. The trade represented a $120,600 bullish bet for which the trader paid $6 per option contract.
• At 12:42 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 206 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $50 expiring on July 9. The trade represented a $40,582 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.97 per option contract.
• At 12:43 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep above ask of 274 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $55 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $87,680 bullish bet for which the trader paid $3.20 per option contract.
• At 12:43 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep above ask of 201 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $55 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $42,612 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2.12 per option contract.
• At 12:59 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 571 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $50 expiring on July 9. The trade represented a $103,351 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.81 per option contract.
• At 1:06 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 200 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $60 expiring on Aug. 20. The trade represented a $177,000 bullish bet for which the trader paid $8.85 per option contract.
• At 1:15 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 251 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $50 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $98,643 bullish bet for which the trader paid $3.93 per option contract.
• At 1:21 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 206 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $90 expiring on Dec 17. The trade represented a $253,380 bullish bet for which the trader paid $12.30 per option contract.
• At 1:22 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the midpoint of 297 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $90 expiring on Dec. 17. The trade represented a $249,260 bullish bet for which the trader paid $12.10 per option contract.
• At 1:29 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep above ask of 326 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $50 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $39,446 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.21 per option contract.