(Reuters) - Stocks slated to deliver large gains in 2017 range from movie-theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (N:AMC) to two companies with ties to billionaire Sam Zell - Equity Commonwealth (N:EQC) and Real Industry Inc (O:RELY), Barron's said in a report.
AMC will attract more cinephiles thanks to a strong lineup of films in 2017 and renovations to its theaters and those of Carmike Cinemas Inc (O:CKEC), which it will acquire pending U.S. regulatory approval, Barron's said on Saturday, detailing its top five small and midsize stock picks for 2017.
The report said Equity Commonwealth, a U.S. real estate investment trust specializing in commercial properties, likely will sell additional holdings and boost its stock price.
At Real Industry, the business model of its aluminum recycling unit largely is not at risk from changing commodity prices, and the company has experienced management despite the departure of its chief executive in August, Barron's said.
Those two companies have ties to real estate mogul Zell, who "has a track record of making shareholder-friendly moves," the report said. Zell is known for an $8.2 billion leveraged buyout of the Tribune Co (N:TRCO) in 2007, a little over a year before the publisher of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times filed for bankruptcy.
Barron's also said broadcasting company E.W. Scripps Co (N:SSP) and textbook publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co (O:HMHC) are poised for gains in 2017.
In other reports, Barron's said consumer technology like virtual reality is "still not ready for prime time," but equipment suppliers for fast-growing cloud storage, such as Arista Networks Inc (N:ANET), will have a good new year.
Separately, shares of DineEquity Inc (N:DIN) could fall 30 percent because its Applebee's subsidiary arguably has too many restaurants and seems to be lacking in investment, Barron's said.