Hertz Stock Accelerates Into The Close, Shares Continue To Move Higher After Hours: Here's Why

Hertz Global Holdings Inc HTZ shares picked up momentum heading into Wednesday’s close and have continued to move higher in after-hours trading. Here’s a look at what’s going on.

What To Know: Hertz shares surged Wednesday morning after Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management filed an amended 13F showing that the firm purchased 12.71 million shares of the rental car company as of Dec. 31, representing a stake of approximately 4.1%.

About 15 minutes before the market close, CNBC’s Scott Wapner reported on “Closing Bell” that a person familiar with the matter said Ackman’s firm’s stake is actually significantly higher at 19.8%, making Pershing Square the second-largest shareholder.

“I’m also told that Pershing received a confidential treatment provision from the SEC, which allowed them to delay the filing beyond the normally required reporting period, which gave them the ability to accumulate substantially more shares since the end of December,” Wapner said.

Wapner noted that Pershing is optimistic about a turnaround under new management. The source also reportedly said Pershing’s bet is partially a tariff play since used cars aren’t impacted by tariffs.

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Hertz reported financial results for the fourth quarter in February that fell shy of analyst estimates. The company said at the time that it was focused on "stabilizing the business" and implementing changes to "transform" the company.

Hertz announced this week that it will report first-quarter earnings after the market close on May 12. Analysts currently expect the company to report a loss of 96 cents per share and revenue of $2.01 billion, according to estimates from Benzinga Pro.

HTZ Price Action: Hertz Global shares were up around 20% for the majority of Wednesday’s session. The stock surged just ahead of the bell, closing the day up 56.44% at $5.71. The stock was up another 16.11% after hours, trading at $6.63 at the time of publication, per Benzinga Pro.

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