How to Buy AMC (AMC) Stock

An online broker makes it easy for you to buy and sell stock on the go from your phone or via a desktop platform. Signing up online is simple, but choosing the best brokers should take a bit more time and legwork. 

Brokerages know you want a streamlined experience with built-in tools, education and analytics. Determine your own priorities for the service you expect and compare that list with each platform’s offering. 

Take a look at our considerations for choosing a broker before you commit:

Do you want a self-managed or advisor-managed account? If you’re an experienced, confident trader, self-managed is a good option. Beginners can benefit from an advisor and you may want to pay the additional fees. 

How much do you want to pay in fees? Commissions may apply. Do the math before you start trading and don’t forget about annual fees or fees per share.

What is the account minimum? Some platforms have $0 minimums. Others have higher account minimums and some brokers may have penalties if your minimum isn’t met. Check into each trader’s requirements.

What kind of data do you need? And how much? Some brokerages have platforms with market data fully integrated. 

Do you want a desktop, web-based or mobile experience? Pay attention to whether or not a broker’s design is reportedly intuitive or clunky.
 
What type of customer service do you expect? Many platforms can deliver 24/7 live customer support via chat or email. Don’t settle for less. 

The number of shares you should buy depends on the price of AMC. For example, let’s say you have $2,000 to invest and AMC’s current stock price is $5 (so you’re comfortably under the stocks under $10 category). You could buy 400 shares of AMC stock. The number of shares you buy depends on your risk tolerance as well. Investing in a single stock opens you up to less diversification than if you were to, say, invest in a mutual fund or ETF. 

If you’re new to investing, you want to know several stock order types to understand before you purchase AMC stock. Your broker will ask you which type of order you want to place. 

Here’s our quick rundown of the most common orders you’ll encounter:

Bid: The bid price represents the maximum amount of money that a buyer is willing to pay for a share of AMC stock.
Ask: The ask is the price a seller is willing to accept for a security. This is also referred to as the offer price.
Spread: The spread is the difference between the lowest ask price and the highest bid price. For example, if the lowest ask price for a share of AMC stock is $5 and the highest bid price is $4.75, then the spread for AMC stock is $0.25.
Limit Order: A limit order is a type of order to purchase or sell a security at a specified price or better. For buy limit orders, the order will execute only at the limit price or lower. For sell limit orders, the order will be executed only at the limit price or higher. Limit orders allow you to better control the prices you trade. 
Market Order: A market order tells your broker that you want to buy the next available shares of AMC, no matter how the market moves. When you place a market order, you won’t specify a price that you’d like your order to execute. Your broker will fill the order as soon as it’s possible to do so. Market orders give you less control over what you pay per share of AMC. 
Stop-Loss Order: A stop-loss order is an order placed with a broker to buy or sell a stock once the stock reaches a certain price. This order can limit your loss on a security position. For example, setting a stop-loss order at 10% below the price at which you bought AMC stock will limit your loss to 10%.
Stop-Limit Order: A stop-limit order combines a limit order and a stop-loss order. When you place a stop-limit order, you specify both an upper limit price and a lower stop price. When you buy AMC, you might set a limit price of $190 and a stop price of $185. Let’s say the cost rises above $190. Your stop-limit order converts to limit order and your broker fills the order as long as you can purchase AMC for $190 a share or less. If the price rises above $190, your broker will stop filling the order. 

Execution is simply the completion of a buy or sell order for a security. But it’s important to remember the execution of an order occurs when it is filled, not when you — the investor — place it.