Carmike Cinemas Up On Profit Boost From 3-D Events

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Shares of movie theater chain Carmike Cinemas Inc. rose Tuesday after an analyst upgraded the stock, citing an earnings boost from coming 3-D events.

Caris & Co. analyst David Miller said the company, which operates nearly a third of the country's 3-D movie screens, should benefit from the upcoming 3-D showing of the World Series, BCS Championship games, the Superbowl, and NCAA March Madness. Viewers pay a $20 admission to see these events in 3-D and they usually also order drinks and food.

Other new 3-D movies that could help the bottom line are 'Toy Story Re-Issue' in October, 'A Christmas Carol' in November, 'Avatar' in December and 'Alice in Wonderland' in March.

Miller raised his fourth-quarter earnings estimate for Carmike to 23 cents per share, from 18 cents. He also upped his first-quarter profit forecast by 4 cents to 17 cents per share. For fiscal 2010, Miller now is expecting a profit of 90 cents per share, up from a prior forecast of 82 cents.

Shares of Columbus, Ga.-based Carmike, which serves small to mid-size markets, were unchanged at $8.47 in afternoon trading.