Apple (AAPL) shares typically rally on earnings surprises and product announcements, but Tuesday we witnessed the power of a single tweet, one capable of moving the $445 billion stock up by as much as $17 billion.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, in a tweet posted at 2:21 p.m. ET, said he had bought Apple shares, an announcement that pushed the stock up from $475.76 to a high of $494.66 about an hour later. In total, that was a $17 billion move. "We currently have a large position in APPLE. We believe the company to be extremely undervalued. Spoke to Tim Cook today. More to come," he wrote.
Icahn followed up with a second tweet a few minutes later explaining he’d had a "nice conversation" with Apple CEO Tim Cook and hoped the company would increase its stock buyback plan.
Apple closed at $489.55, meaning its market capitalization increased $12.5 billion from the time of Icahn’s initial tweet.