WebMD Health Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of digital health information specialist WebMD Health (NAS: WBMD) look fit as a fiddle today, cruising to 12.4% overnight gains on above-average trading volumes.

So what: After Friday's closing bell, activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed a 7.9% stake in WebMD. This makes him the largest individual holder of WebMD shares, and management welcomed this overture from "someone as astute as Carl Icahn."

Now what: The stock is now back to where it was right after offering timid guidance for the third quarter. Of course, that still leaves a 24% climb to get back to levels last seen before that update. We're bound to see another business update before Icahn offers any alternative business plans, as WebMD reports earnings next week. But Icahn's interest matters a great deal in this particular case -- given his background as a med-school dropout, you'd expect him to know more about WebMD's prospects than of fellow rescue projects such as business software expertLawson Software (NAS: LWSN) or household cleaner veteranClorox (NYS: CLX) . I'd keep a close eye on WebMD at this point.

Interested in more information about WebMD Health? Add it toMy Watchlist.

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