Shares of Carvana Co. continued their “meme”-like surge Tuesday, rallying 10.0% toward a 2 1/2-month high in premarket trading despite no official news released. The online used-car retailer’s stock had run up 53.9% over the past two days, and 55.5% amid a three-day win streak through Monday. The stock also showed meme-like tendencies earlier this month, soaring 81.7% in two days to Jan. 12, as short interest, or bearish bets on the stock, reached record highs. Short interest as a percent of float, or shares available for public trading, was 59.7% as of the latest exchange data, which is more than double the percentages of the original meme stocks of GameStop Corp. GME at 23.5% and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. AMC at 22.6%. On Jan. 17, the company adopted a shareholder rights plan, or “poison pill,” to block investors for buying a large stake while the stock was depressed; the stock closed at a record low of $3.72 on Dec. 27. If the stock closes up Tuesday, the four-day win streak would be the longest since the four-day streak that ended Sept. 12, 2022. Despite the recent rallies, the stock was still down 26.1% over the past three months through Monday, and down 93.8% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 3.8% the past three months and lost 11.0% the past year.
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