When An Activist's Stock Goes On Sale: Carl Icahn More Than Doubles Hertz Position

Investors in Hertz Global Holdings, Inc HTZ may have gotten quite a shock when they pulled up their investment platforms Tuesday morning. By the market open, shares had plunged nearly 40 percent on the heels of a big earnings miss and some very concerning FY 2016 guidance.

Shortly after the open, as traders got word of a handful of negative sell-side sentiment on the name, the stock continued another 11 percent lower to hit a new 52-week low at $17.20.

Around 10:45 a.m. EST, something funny started happening with the price: it started to rebound -- and rebounded very strongly. By noon, shares were trading just shy of $25; by the end of the trading session, Hertz's share price was near $27.50, and down only about 22 percent from Monday's close.

Enter Carl Icahn.

An after-hours amended 13D filing from Icahn disclosed the activist investor had increased his already-massive stake in the rental car company from over 15 percent to nearly 34 percent.

The strong bounce in Hertz shares over the course of Tuesday's session didn't seem quite so unexplained.