To The Moon

• AMC Entertainment(AMC) andAMC’s Preferred Equity(APE) stock are rallying in anticipation of this weekend's National Cinema Day.
• It's the first #NationalCinemaDay and tickets will be discounted to just $3 apiece.
• For what is notoriously a slow weekend, investors hope this acts as a catalyst to drive customers into theaters -- and drive movie theater stocks higher.

The stock market is going a bit haywire ahead of the long holiday weekend, but investors inAMC Entertainment(NYSE:AMC) have something to cheer about. The stock has turned higher on the day, led byAMC’s Preferred Equity(NYSE:APE) stock. At one point today, APE stock rallied more than 24%.

That helped lift AMC stock out of the red, as shares were down more than 2.5% in early trading. However, the stock is now up by a similar amount on the day and was up 6.9% at the high.

Also helping drive the stock higher may be National Cinema Day. Sept. 3 officially marks the first #NationalCinemaDay — as it would appear on social media — and investors are hoping it drives customers into movie theaters.

There were plans to start a National Cinema Day event before 2020, but the pandemic put those plans on hold.According toCNBC, “In addition to being a ‘thank you’ to fans who returned to movie theaters in droves during the summer blockbuster season…the hope is that people who haven’t been to the movies in a few years might be tempted to visit their local theater.”

With more than 3,000 participating, “theaters will be selling tickets for every movie — including more expensive formats like IMAX and 3D — for only $3.”

Will This Help APE Stock Now?

With today’s rally, bulls are hoping that APE stock can snap its losing streak. Prior to today’s action, shares had fallen in each of the prior six sessions. Amid that skid, the stock has fallen almost 40%.

Given the performance of AMC lately, the movie theater chain will need a catalyst to get its stock moving in the right direction again.According toAxios, the Labor Day weekend is one of the slowest weekends for theaters.

If it works, investors could see more upside momentum in these two stocks. However, if it doesn’t work — or if the momentum is only fleeting — then these stocks face continued risk from the ongoing bear market in equities.

$AMC Entertainment Preferred(APE)$