Rocket companies President Dan Gilbert might want to offer some karma to users of the infamous Wall Street Bets subreddit.

The shares of his company climbed 71% Tuesday after the day when traders on the subreddit became interested in the mortgage lender actions, which had hovered around the $ 20 mark for much of the past three months.

Almost 40% of the available shares of the company are sold short, according to Market Beat, and it is one of the best short-selling companies by hedge funds on Wall Street. The stock climbed to $ 43 on Tuesday and closed at $ 41.60.

Tuesday’s jump gave Rocket his best day since going public in early August.

Rocket Mortgage bears little resemblance to the companies Reddit day traders previously targeted, such as Gamestop. Unlike Gamestop, the lender is very profitable.

In 2020, the mortgage lender issued approximately $ 320 billion in mortgages and generated $ 9.5 billion in profits. It is by far the largest lender in America, and certainly the best known, having spent billions on marketing.

Still, investors weren’t overly excited about the Detroit-based lender for most of its time as a publicly traded company. Although it is trading at a premium compared to most mortgage competitors – and at one point around $ 34 per share – so far this week, Rocket’s share has barely exceeded its starting price in August. of $ 18. The main institutional shareholders include Invesco, Avant-garde funds and Black rock.

Gilbert and his employees own 94% of the company, according to Deposits with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Beyond the standard refrain that the mortgage is a highly cyclical industry heavily dependent on interest rates, analysts during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call pointed to the company’s shrinking margins and its reliance on refinancing activities as a precautionary reason.

Rocket, which was founded in 1985, has shown resilience. While its profit margin on the sale slipped to 4.41% in the fourth quarter, from 4.52% in the third quarter, it is still a much shallower drop than its competitors. The company’s projection of between $ 98 billion and $ 103 billion in creations for the first quarter of 2021, and a gain on sales margins of between 3.6% and 3.9% would still be better than most of its competitors.

Rocket also announced during its earnings call that it has partnered with Morgan stanley and E-commerce to create and manage conventional mortgages for their millions of customers, which could significantly increase its purchasing activity. Given the recent rise in interest rates, investors will likely be excited to hear about new pipelines to grab buy business.

In its quarterly earnings call, Rocket said its board of directors approved a large special dividend of $ 1.11 per share to shareholders.