Shares of mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) saw huge price surges early Monday after hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posted about the two stocks on social media.
“Some of the highest quality businesses in the world are trading at extremely cheap prices. Ignore the MSM. One of the most one-sided wars in history that will end well for the U.S. and the world. And we have the potential for a large peace dividend. One of the best times in a long time to buy quality. Ignore the bears,” Ackman wrote in a Sunday night post on X. “And Fannie and Freddie are stupidly cheap. Asymmetry at its best. They could be a 10X and it could happen soon.”
It was that last part that sent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stocks to the moon, naturally.
As of around noon ET on Monday, Fannie Mae shares were up more than 35%, trading at more than $6.50. Shares were trading at $4.86 on Friday, and even with the Ackman-backed boost, are still down almost 40% year-to-date. Similarly, Freddie Mac shares were up 33% as of noon ET on Monday, trading at more than $5.80. They are still down almost 44% year-to-date.
As for Ackman’s comment on the two stocks being “stupidly cheap?” He’s correct, to a degree—but it depends on your perspective.
Freddie Mac went public in the late 1980s, and share prices were at their peaks during the mid-aughts, trading at more than $65 before crashing during the housing and financial crisis in 2008. Fannie Mae saw a similar arc, trading at more than $80 at one point in 2001. It also fell to penny stock status in 2008. Neither stock has ever seen much of a recovery until the past year or so. FNMA, for instance, topped out at around $15.30 in September 2025.
But Ackman wasn’t the only one offering market commentary. In response to Ackman’s post, Michael Burry, the famous “Big Short” investor, offered his apparent agreement by posting, “Cannot emphasize enough how rare this is in this market.” Burry has also been weighing in on the housing market, recently arguing that the United States does not have a housing shortage, which is commonly blamed for high housing prices. Burry also wrote a Substack post about buying shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
It seems that when figures like Ackman and Burry speak up, the markets listen and respond—that’s what’s largely driven the Monday surge in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.