We’ve halted the buying of Hertz stock

Over the past few days, we’ve been closely monitoring what’s happening with Hertz. On Friday, the company was approved to sell up to $1 billion of stock, despite filing for bankruptcy on May 22. In a filing, the company wrote: “The recent market prices of and the trading volumes in Hertz’s common stock potentially present a unique opportunity.”

It has been reported that a significant portion of demand is coming from retail investors hoping to reap a big upside. Yet counter to the stock’s recent surge in popularity in some trading platforms, analysts and experts deeply question the value of the stock.

We’ll get straight to it: We don’t want novice investors in our community left holding the bag so that Hertz can avail this “unique opportunity.”

Hertz has not risen in popularity on Public, but this is an unprecedented situation and, as such, we believe we have a responsibility to protect our community.

So, we’ve made the decision to place a safety lock on the purchase of Hertz until more information comes to light about the future of this business.

Here’s what’s happening, effective market open today:

• We’ve placed a temporary safety lock on the purchase of Hertz stock, which means that members cannot buy this stock for the time being.
• Members who hold Hertz stock can sell their stock at any time.
• Members can add Hertz to their Watchlists to receive news updates as things unfold.
• Pending orders that were placed before the lock went into effect will still be executed at the market open.

Our community is made up of investors who hail from diverse backgrounds and varying skill levels. And while we have many seasoned investors on our platform, the vast majority of our members — about 90 percent — are novices who see Public as a way to build their knowledge as they build their portfolios.

As a young company, we make decisions based on a defined set of principles that reflect the soul of who we are and who we want to be. Foremost in those principles is our commitment to building a safe environment for new investors to gain experience in the market.

Nobody knows for sure what will happen to Hertz; however, based on what we know today, allowing this stock to continue to be available for purchase on our platform defies the core of what we believe in.

We will continue to closely monitor this situation and will release the hold should things change that make this a less risky investment for our members.

Soon, we’ll be rolling out a new feature that notifies members when they are about to purchase stock from a bankrupt company. The decision to proceed with their purchase will then be up to them.

Like many in our industry, we believe that investing is ripe for democratization. We happen to think the best way to achieve that aim is to build a safe space in which investors of all levels can share ideas about the companies they believe in and build their financial literacy together.

We commit to looking out for our members in this regard and are open to questions and feedback. Send us a note at hello@public.com or reach out on Twitter @publichello.

Leif Abraham and Jannick Malling
co-CEOs of Public.com