LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Volkswagen's massive stock price surge has briefly let Europe's top automaker to stake the claim as the world's largest company by market capitalization, passing oil giant Exxon Mobil. Volkswagen continued to climb Tuesday as short sellers rushed to cover positions after Porsche Automobil Holdings announced over the weekend that it would seek a 75% stake. See Monday's VW story.
VW shares rose as much as 93% on Tuesday. With mid-day gains of "just" 50%, the stock is trading about 5 times higher than lows reached in January. VW shares, with a free float estimated to be as low as 5% with Porsche and the Lower State of Saxony holding much of the company, were at its high of Tuesday worth 295 billion euros, or $367 billion.
Exxon Mobil (XOM 66.09, -2.95, -4.3%) closed Monday with a market capitalization of $343 billion.
Volkswagen last week said nine-month deliveries edged up 3.9% to 4.8 million vehicles, picking up market share vs. rivals, but said it was concerned about the "marked deterioration in the situation for our industry throughout the world."
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