With A Historic Public Offering On The Horizon, Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac's Rally Is Bolstered By Solid Consumer Sentiment Figures

Shares of Fannie Mae FNMA and Freddie Mac FMCC are surging in Monday morning trading, building on momentum from late last week. Here’s what investors need to know.

What To Know: The primary catalyst for the rally is a report revealing the Trump administration is seriously considering a plan to sell a portion of its stake in Fannie Mae and its counterpart, Freddie Mac.

This move would begin the process of returning the companies to the private sector after more than a decade and a half of government conservatorship, which began during the 2008 financial crisis.

The proposed plan, as detailed in reports on Friday, could involve selling between 5% and 15% of the government’s holdings, potentially raising up to $200 billion in what would be one of the largest stock offerings in history. Six major Wall Street banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, have presented frameworks for the public offering.

The initiative has found a vocal supporter in hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who has long argued for recapitalizing the entities. He noted recently that the companies are now well-capitalized and significantly safer than they were pre-crisis.

While the government would retain majority control for the time being, the offering is seen as a critical step toward privatization.

This news comes against a backdrop of strengthening consumer confidence in the housing market. Last Thursday, Fannie Mae published its July 2025 National Housing Survey results, which showed the Home Purchase Sentiment Index rose 2.0 points to 71.8.

The combination of a potential concrete path toward privatization and positive underlying market sentiment is fueling significant investor optimism for the stock.

Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, FNMA shares are trading higher by 17% to $11.55 Monday morning. The stock has a 52-week high of $11.91 and a 52-week low of $1.08.

FMCC shares are meanwhile higher by 14.7% to $9.15. The stock has a 52-week high of $9.25 and a 52-week low of $1.04.

Read Also: Trump’s Tariff Storm Could Soon Hit American Consumers: Here’s Why

How To Buy FNMA Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Federal National Mortgage – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.