Shares of Avis double in single day as huge earnings beat sends hedge fund shorts running

Automobile rental inventory Avis Budget surged Tuesday after the corporate reported a stronger-than-expected third quarter that sparked huge buying and selling quantity.

The corporate reported $10.74 in per-share earnings for the third quarter, beating a Refinitiv consensus estimate by greater than $4. Income additionally topped expectations. Avis Funds’s board additionally approved a further $1 billion in share buybacks.

The inventory was up greater than 100% round noon. Buying and selling within the inventory was halted a number of instances Tuesday morning.

A considerable amount of bets towards the inventory seemingly contributed to the scale and pace of the day’s transfer.

Forward of the earnings report, 20.5% of the float of Avis Funds’s inventory was offered quick, in accordance with FactSet, an abnormally excessive quantity. When a inventory rises, short-sellers are pressured to cowl their positions by shopping for shares, creating extra upward stress on the inventory value. That is known as a “quick squeeze.”

Some quick squeezes have been accelerated this 12 months as a consequence of retail merchants who use social media websites like Reddit’s WallStreetBets. Heavy curiosity from smaller traders helped to drive dramatic strikes in shares like GameStop and AMC Leisure earlier this 12 months.

As of 11:38 a.m. ET, greater than 17 million shares of Avis Funds had been traded on Tuesday, in accordance with FactSet.

The U.S. rental automotive business has been in a state of upheaval because the begin of the pandemic. Journey demand plummeted in 2020, main Avis-rival Hertz to file for bankruptcy protection, and manufacturing delays for automakers have led to a scarcity of accessible automobiles in 2021 as vacationers have hit the street.

Shares of Hertz have been additionally the topic of a buying and selling frenzy earlier this 12 months. The corporate has since emerged from chapter.