Carl Icahn, the 77-year-old activist investor, has embraced Twitter.For an old-school investor, Carl C. Icahn has quickly become a force in technology stocks.
Amid his battle against a proposed buyout of Dell, Mr. Icahn has found a tech giant he likes, announcing via Twitter that he has a “large” position in Apple’s stock.
His two tweets on Tuesday afternoon — only his 11th and 12th since joining the social media platform in late June — sent shares of Apple surging. In late trading, the stock price was up more than 4 percent, at $487.90
The latest disclosure comes a day after Icahn Enterprises said it would begin to make announcements through Twitter, as part of a new Securities and Exchange Commission filing procedure that has been created to allow companies to publish announcements through social media.
Mr. Icahn is not the first hedge fund manager to pressure Apple to do something with its large cash pile. Earlier this year David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital accused Apple of “hoarding” cash in a move that eventually led the technology company to announce a $100 billion inshare buybacks and dividend payments.
Steve Dowling, a representative for Apple said: “We appreciate the interest and investment of all our shareholders. Tim had a very positive conversation with Mr. Icahn today.”