Avis stock looks to snap six-day skid following qtrly report
30/04/2026 18:27
** Rental car co Avis Budget's CAR.O shares up 4.4% to $189.12 on Thurs and could snap a six-day losing streak, one day after Q1 financial report ** Co early Weds reported second consecutive qtrly net loss of $283 mln following loss of $747 mln in Q4 ** Parsippany, New Jersey-based firm, along with rival Hertz HTZ.O, has seen steady travel demand, but profitability has been pressured by high operating costs, rising interest expenses and elevated vehicle depreciation ** They also took a hit from selling tens of thousands of electric vehicles, often at discounted prices, as consumer demand has waned for EVs ** CAR shares have been on a wild ride this month, hitting a record intraday high of $847.70 on Apr 20 and plunging since then, caught up once again in "meme-stock" mania ** The dizzying spike in its stock has been attributed to a short squeeze ** Meanwhile, according to SEC filings late Tues, major CAR shareholder Pentwater Capital Management disclosed offloading ~4.3 mln shares between Apr 22 and Apr 23 ** On conf call with analysts early Weds, CEO Brian Choi singled out the Florida-based hedge fund for "excess volatility" in its stock recently, and said that Pentwater has acknowledged its sale may have violated SEC rules that aim to prevent insiders and large stockholders from triggering short squeezes ** Choi said co has requested Pentwater furnish it all relevant information concerning the trades and that the co will "aggressively pursue" all options ** Separately, when asked if co may have missed an opportunity to raise equity to retire higher cost debt, Choi replied, "we have no intention of issuing shares anywhere near these levels" ** CAR had filed an up to 5-mln-share ATM (at the market) offering program on Mar 27 ** With the move on the session, CAR shares up ~30% in Apr (Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own) ((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))