AMC is on a list of names that have attracted the highest weekly options volume
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) attracted a great deal of attention in 2021, especially after the heavily shorted movie theater concern became a meme stock. The equity has since cooled from the retail trading frenzy that pushed it to a June 2, all-time high of $72.62, but was up 7% to trade at $29.90 at last check. A floor at the $27 mark came into place last week, helping AMC maintain its impressive 1,273.6% year-over-year lead.
What's more, the equity just appeared on Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White's list of names that have attracted the highest weekly options volume over the last two weeks. Specifically, 3,513,077 weekly calls and 2,138,977 weekly puts have crossed the tape. The most popular contract during that two-week period was the weekly 12/23 30-strike call with the standard expiration 12/17 in close second.
Analysts have been bearish towards the equity, with all five in coverage calling it a tepid "hold" or worse. In addition, short interest has been on the rise, up 15.9% over the most recent reporting period. Now, the 96.70 million shares sold short make up 18.8% of the stock's available float.
Now could be an ideal opportunity to weigh in on the stock's next move with options. This is per AMC's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 117%, which sits in the low 4th percentile of its 12-month range -- suggesting volatility expectations are unusually low right now.
It is also worth noting the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at 95 out of 100. This means AMC has exceeded options traders' volatility expectations in the past year.