AMC stock falls after the meme darling books a deeper 4th-quarter loss than expected

• AMC stock took a tumble after the movie-theatre chain booked deeper 4th-quarter losses than expected.
• The meme stock fell 4.76% Wednesday to $6.78 after AMC reported a net loss of $287.7 million.

AMC Entertainment Holdings' stock tumbled Wednesday after the movie-theatre chain posted a deeper fourth-quarter loss than expected.

The beloved meme stock fell 4.76% Wednesday to $6.78 after falling 8.6% earlier in pre market trading. Its earnings results saw the company report a net loss of $287.7 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with analyst estimates for 21 cents.

Meanwhile, AMC posted fourth-quarter revenue of $991 million that beat forecasts of $978 million. That's after analysts repeatedly cut the theatre operator's revenue targets for the fourth quarter, expecting it to top $1 billion in January.

AMC's latest financial results build on a string of losses in the past years. Per MarketWatch, the latest numbers mark losses for four years in a row and 14 consecutive quarters.

"At AMC, we're all smiles today, but by no means are we out of the woods yet," CEO Adam Aron said in a statement, per the outlet. "We will need to remain smart and action-oriented to successfully chart our way through what are still COVID-impacted waters," he added.

The latest stock slide follows a 23% surge on Monday thanks to good news for its shareholders from the legal front. A judge seemingly delayed a preliminary injunction hearing for shareholders who are accusing the chain of sidestepping investors to add more shares via a conversion of its "APE" preferred shares to common stock.

The move, which would increase the pool of common stock and dilute the voting power of shareholders, comes in an effort to lower company debt.

So far this year, AMC stock has risen 61% thanks to a return of bullish sentiment among retail investors. Like the meme-stock boom of 2021, investors are piling into risky assets but analysts warn their enthusiasm may be irrational, Insider's Phil Rosen reports.