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Investors who bought stocks during the COVID-19 market crash in 2020 have generally experienced some big gains in the past two years. But there is no question some big-name stocks performed better than others since the pandemic bottom.

AMC's Big Run

One company that has been a shockingly spectacular investment in the past two years has been movie theater company AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC).

Unfortunately for long-term AMC investors, the stock and the company were struggling even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the entertainment business has undergone a dramatic shift to an over-the-top streaming model. However, AMC experienced a near worst-case scenario in March 2020. The global COVID-19 outbreak shut down all of AMC’s operations. By June, the company announced it had “substantial doubt” it could avoid bankruptcy.

At the beginning of 2020, AMC shares were trading around $7.30 according to Benzinga Pro. By the beginning of March, the stock had dropped below $6.30 after news of the virus spreading in China prompted concerns about a U.S. pandemic. On March 17 of that year, AMC shares dropped all the way down to $1.95 in intraday trading.

AMC shares recovered to as high as $7.71 in September 2020 amid a broad market rally. The stock ultimately hit its pandemic low of $1.91 in January 2021 as investors looked closer at the growing possibility AMC would never be able to manage its more than $11 billion in debt.

AMC In 2022, Beyond

With AMC on the brink of bankruptcy in January 2021, a miracle happened when Reddit’s WallStreetBets community orchestrated a coordinated buying campaign in the stock as part of a targeted short squeeze effort.

The short squeeze sent the stock skyrocketing from under $2 per share to as high as $72.62 in June 2021. Since the dust has settled on the initial short squeeze, AMC shares are now back down to the $26.87 level.

Still, investors who bought AMC stock on the day it hit its pandemic low and held on have generated a spectacular return on their investment. In fact, $1,000 in AMC stock bought on Jan. 5, 2021, would be worth about $14,900 today.

Looking ahead, analysts are expecting AMC stock to continue to fall back down to earth. The average price target among the six analysts covering the stock is $6, suggesting 77.6% downside from current levels.