What happened
Leading meme stocks were taking investors down more than a notch or two Tuesday as AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC -3.25%) and GameStop (GME 7.58%) were falling by 5.6% and 4.6%, respectively, heading into noontime trading. On the other hand, Sundial Growers (SNDL -3.38%), after falling more than 2% to start the day, began rallying and managed to break through into positive territory.
So what
It's an inauspicious start to the new year for movie theater operator AMC, which lost 2.5% of its value yesterday and has lost nearly 10% over the past month, while GameStop is down even more, falling 15% since early December.
Image source: Getty Images.
Sundial Growers has been the surprise of the lot with an 11% gain over the last month. But with its stock still trading well below $1 a share and having lost over 85% of its value from the peaks reached a year ago, it's hardly a picture of strength.
Now what
AMC is still hoping for the return of moviegoers to its theaters, counting on the occasional release of potential blockbusters to draw people in. While the latest release of the Spider-Man franchise saw massive crowds turn out for its debut, it's been hit or miss with most other films.
GameStop is trying to engineer its own turnaround, but by keeping mum on exactly how it is going to achieve that, it has sustained a cloud of doubt about its prospects.
But Sundial investors view its pending acquisition of Alcanna (OTC:LQSI.F), a Canadian liquor store chain that is also the majority shareholder in a major Canadian cannabis retailer, as the charge that jump-starts its recovery. Yet even for such a low-priced stock, it carries a much higher valuation than many other better-positioned marijuana stocks.
