What's Going On With AMC Entertainment Stock?

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC shares are trading higher Thursday after a Delaware Court pumped the brakes on the theater chain company's proposed APE conversion settlement with shareholders.

What To Know: AMC shares tumbled on Tuesday after the company reached a settlement with shareholders, which would allow for the conversion of AMC Preferred Equity Units APE into common shares.

The move is expected to be part of a recapitalization that will give AMC access to equity to service debt. The settlement would result in a reverse split that gives holders of AMC common stock one share for every 7.5 shares held in connection with a planned conversion of preferred APE units into common stock. 

Late Wednesday, a Delaware's Court of Chancery denied the motion to lift the status quo order, noting that a pause was needed to follow rules that exist in every class action or derivative settlement.

"The parties offer no good cause to lift the status quo order. The plaintiffs assert the status quo order must be lifted only to permit performance of the settlement agreement, which would allow the putative class members to receive the settlement consideration more quickly and 'remove significant uncertainty' weighing on AMC," Vice Chancellor Morgan Zurn said.

"In the absence of any demonstrated need to reorder the established and purposeful order of operations, I must conclude that harm to the putative class suffered by foregoing Rule 23’s required protections of proper notice, opportunity to object, and approval exceeds the benefit of receiving the common stock sooner."

AMC is scheduled to report first-quarter financial results before the market open on May 5. In the same quarter last year, AMC beat analyst expectations when it reported a loss of 52 cents per share on quarterly revenue of $785.7 million, according to Benzinga Pro.

See Also: Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Wobble Amid Jobs Data Jitters: Analyst Warns Of Challenging April, Q1 Before Good Times Return

AMC Price Action: At time of publication, AMC shares were up 12.2% at $4.56 and APE units were down 12.3% at $1.50, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Dave Dugdale from Flickr.