Infosys Pares Gains After Stock Spike. No One Knows What Prompted the Move.

Infosys stock popped out of nowhere. (Jetcityimage/Dreamstime.com)

Infosys stock calmed down Friday afternoon, paring gains after jumping as much as 56% earlier in the session. It’s unclear what caused the spike.

American depositary receipts of Infosys, the Indian consulting company, were up 5.5% at $20.23 apiece. The stock rose 56% earlier Friday, which was its largest intraday percent increase on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

The New York Stock Exchange halted trading on the stock Friday morning for volatility. Shares immediately pulled back after trading resumed.

There was no clear catalyst for the sudden spike, which left at least one analyst watching the stock puzzled. What’s more, peers Cognizant Technology Solutions and Tata Consultancy Services didn’t post similar moves. Another analyst told Barron’s that the confusion within the industry suggested the move wasn’t fundamental.

Infosys didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We had heard chatter of forced buy-ins and massive spike in borrowing costs,” Mizuho trading analyst Daniel O’Regan said in a Friday note. “We did not hear a fundamental reason for the initial strength, but it feels like a combination of multiple factors and then everyone rushed for the exit on the short side.

Infosys has been under pressure this year on changes to H-1B visas pushed through by the Trump administration, including a $100,000 fee on new visas. In October, J.P. Morgan strategists led by Dubravko Lakos-Bujas noted that the “introduction of a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions and a shift to wage-weighted selection should impact U.S. services trade, particularly affecting Indian IT companies, which account for 71% of H-1B beneficiaries.”

Shares of Infosys were down 10% this year as of Thursday’s close, while shares of Tata Consultancy Services fell 20%, and those of Cognizant Technology Solutions rose 12%.

Write to Ben Levisohn at ben.levisohn@barrons.com