Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) is battling back from steep declines on Thursday.
Shares of the beleaguered online auto retailer ran over 40% to the upside before being halted for volatility twice in mid-day trading. The surge in the stock is a massive reversal from recent declines that have led shares to lose nearly 90% of their value in the past six months.
While no immediate catalyst for the upward momentum is apparent, it is worth noting that the stock is heavily shorted. Per NYSE data from the close of April, 28, 95 million shares were held short, representing 28.71% of its float.
Trading volume was also particularly elevated on Thursday, representing about 2.5 times the average.
Other online auto retailers that surged on Thursday included the UK-based Cazoo Group (CZOO +11.2%) and Vroom Inc. (VRM +13.8%).
Read more on the spate of recent downgrades Wall Street has published on the stock.