AMC stock bounces, in wake of credit upgrade; GameStop stock also rises

Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. AMC, -13.23% bounced 3.9% in premarket trading Friday, after falling 22.2% over the past two sessions. The stock, along with some other meme stocks, took a hit Thursday after GameStop Corp. GME, -27.16% disclosed that the Securities and Exchange Commission was looking into the "trading activity" in its stock and those of other companies. GameStop's stock rallied 6.1% ahead of Friday's open, after tumbling 27.2% on Thursday. Late in Thursday's session, AMC's credit rating was upgraded by two notches, to CCC+ from CCC-, by S&P Global Ratings, which said the movie theater operator's recent equity capital raises "makes it less likely that AMC will pursue a subpar debt exchange or other forms of debt restructuring in the near future." AMC said it raised $1.25 billion from equity in the second quarter, and S&P Global pegged the capital raises at roughly $1.8 billion this year. The credit rating agency said AMC's credit outlook is positive, which suggests potential for another upgrade. The CCC+ rating, which still suggests AMC's debt is "vulnerable for nonpayment," is still seven notches deep into speculative grade, or "junk" territory. The bounce in AMC's stock, and GameStop's, comes as futures ES00, +0.21% for the S&P 500 SPX, +0.47% edged up 0.1%.