So, you know how when you rent a car, you're basically just borrowing a depreciating asset for a few days? Well, it turns out that asset might be depreciating a bit slower these days. Shares of Hertz Global Holdings Inc (HTZ) are getting a nice lift on Wednesday, and the reason is pretty straightforward: used cars are getting more expensive.

Used Cars Are Hot Again

Remember the Manheim Index? It's the big benchmark for wholesale used car auction prices across the U.S. According to reports, it just popped 6.2% last month. That puts it at the highest level we've seen since the summer of 2023. For a company like Hertz that owns a massive fleet of vehicles, this is basically good news for the balance sheet. The cars they eventually sell are worth more.

Where Did All the Cars Go?

The price jump isn't happening in a vacuum. Cox Automotive reports that demand for used vehicles is holding up just fine, thank you very much. Meanwhile, the supply of available vehicles fell below 40 days in March. For context, that's the lowest inventory level we've seen all year. When there are fewer cars to go around, prices tend to go up. Cox expects retail prices to climb another 2% or so throughout the rest of 2026, and they've even nudged their full-year sales forecast up to 20.4 million units.

What the Charts Are Saying

Let's talk about the stock itself. At $5.99, HTZ is trading a solid 36.4% above its 20-day simple moving average and 20.7% above its 100-day average. That's a strong near-term move. The relative strength index (RSI), a momentum gauge, is sitting at 73.70. For the technically inclined, that's in "overbought" territory, which is a fancy way of saying the rally might be getting a little tired and could take a breather.

There's also the ghost of trends past. A "death cross"—where the 50-day moving average fell below the 200-day—formed back in November. That pattern highlighted a longer-term downtrend that's only recently started to repair itself. So, while the short-term action is bullish, the longer-term picture is still in recovery mode.

For traders watching the levels, key resistance sits at $6.00, with support down near $5.00.

The Short Seller Angle

Here's another piece of the puzzle: a lot of people are betting against this stock. The short interest on Hertz is approximately 48.97%. That's a huge number. It means when the stock goes up, like it did today, those short sellers start feeling the heat and might have to buy shares to close their positions, which can push the price even higher. It's a dynamic that can make moves more volatile.

Speaking of today's move, Hertz shares were up 4.08% at $6.12 at the time of publication.