Options Traders Continue To Slap The Ask On AMC Entertainment Stock

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc AMC was trading higher for the third day in a row on Monday propelled by a massive second-quarter earnings beat and the theatre chain company’s decision to accept Bitcoin as currency for tickets and concessions.

On Friday, Benzinga reported another short squeeze could be in the works after options traders continued to hammer bullish AMC call contracts. On Monday, AMC was battling to regain support of the 21-day exponential moving average on the daily chart and head north toward an upper resistance level at the $39 level.

Despite the stock smoking short sellers a couple of times already this year, bearish institutions continue to pile into AMC. Of AMC’s 511.4 million share float, the number of shares held short has increased to 85.85 million in July, up from 75.48 the month prior.

The short sellers could be in trouble if the bears continue to win the battle and on Monday bullish options traders continued to purchase call contracts. Together the traders bought over $1.9 million worth of calls with one trader spending over $500,000 on a single order.

See Also: How to Buy AMC Stock Right Now

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

• At 10:18 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep at the ask of 205 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $31 expiring on Aug. 20. The trade represented a $66,420 bullish bet for which the trader paid $3.24 per option contract.
• At 10:34 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep at the ask of 200 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $31 expiring on Aug. 20. The trade represented a $73,000 bullish bet for which the trader paid $3.65 per option contract.
• At 10:35 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep at the ask of 200 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $31 expiring on Aug. 20. The trade represented a $73,000 bullish bet for which the trader paid $3.65 per option contract.
• At 10:37 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep at the ask of 317 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $34 expiring on Sept. 17. The trade represented a $179,105 bullish bet for which the trader paid $5.65 per option contract.
• At 10:37 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep at the ask of 300 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $34 expiring on Sept. 17. The trade represented a $171,000 bullish bet for which the trader paid $5.70 per option contract.
• At 10:39 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep at the ask of 300 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $34 expiring on Sept. 17. The trade represented a $178,500 bullish bet for which the trader paid $5.95 per option contract.
• At 10:40 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep at the ask of 300 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $50 expiring on Sept. 17. The trade represented a $60,000 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2 per option contract.
• At 10:40 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep at the ask of 373 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $35 expiring on Sept. 17. The trade represented a $75,719 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2.03 per option contract.
• At 10:40 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep at the ask of 301 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $50 expiring on Sept. 17. The trade represented a $57,900 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.91 per option contract.
• At 10:47 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep at the ask of 292 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $20 expiring on Dec. 17. The trade represented a $540,200 bullish bet for which the trader paid $18.50 per option contract.
• At 11:07 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep at the ask of 565 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $35 expiring on Aug. 20. The trade represented a $114,130 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2.02 per option contract.
• At 11:08 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep at the ask of 448 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $35 expiring on Sept. 10. The trade represented a $219,520 bullish bet for which the trader paid $4.90 per option contract.
• At 11:08 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep at the ask of 212 AMC Entertainment options with a strike price of $35 expiring on Sept. 10. The trade represented a $103,880 bullish bet for which the trader paid $4.90 per option contract.

AMC Price Action: AMC Entertainment was trading up 5.5% to $35.32 at publication time.