What happened

Shares of Six Flags Entertainment (SIX -0.55%) were up 26% in October, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. That far outpaced the S&P 500's 8% gain, but it's unclear as to why the theme park operator was a market-beater last month. It had only one official news item, and it's extremely unlikely that news was what moved the stock.

So what

On Oct. 5, Six Flags filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that Derek Sample had been appointed to the role of chief accounting officer in September. Nothing against Sample, but I doubt this hiring announcement had any impact on the stock whatsoever.

Wall Street analysts shared their thoughts about Six Flags stock throughout October. However, the majority of the commentary was negative, not positive.

For example, Truist analyst Michael Swartz lowered his price target for Six Flags stock by 10% to $18 per share, according to TheFly.com. Citi analyst James Hardiman cut his price target as well, to $20 per share. And both analysts were concerned about traffic at the company's theme parks, especially as consumers seem to be cutting back on leisure spending.

Oddly enough, Hardiman weighed in again a couple of weeks later, saying that he believes traffic at Six Flags improved during October. And because of this, the analyst boosted his price target back to where it had been before: $23 per share. That was the only price-target increase on Six Flags in October from a major analyst, and it came on the final day of the month. Therefore, while it might have been encouraging for shareholders, it couldn't have been responsible for the stock's 26% gain. 

Now what

Six Flags is currently pursuing a strategy of trying to earn more money per park visitor rather than attempting to increase its overall traffic. As part of this strategy, it has been tweaking its operating hours and ticket pricing, and it continued to adjust them in October.

According to Theme Park Insider, Six Flags changed the operating hours for its Magic Mountain location in California. Previously, the company had aimed to have that park open every day of the year if the weather allowed. But now, it will be closed on several Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for the remainder of 2022.

Similarly, it has reportedly slimmed down the perks that are available to 2023 season pass holders at its Six Flags Over Texas park. Previously, a gold-level season pass also gave the holder access to the nearby Hurricane Harbor water park. Now, those who want that benefit will have to buy the higher-priced platinum pass.

This is all part of Six Flags' strategy to charge premium prices for a premium experience. The approach seemed to be paying off in 2022's second quarter, when spending per capita rose 23% year over year. But investors should still pay attention to Six Flags' attendance and spending-per-capita metrics when it reports third-quarter results on Nov. 10.