Kyle Bass goes long JC Penney: Source

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Another hedge fund has taken a bullish position in retailer J.C. Penney, sending the shares soaring Tuesday.

Kyle Bass's Hayman Capital owns a large equity position in the retailer, according to sources. The stake is reportedly about 5.5 million shares.

Hayman Capital also owns J.C. Penney debt and other financial instruments.

(Read more: JC Penney's 100-year bonds swoon amid retailer's turmoil)

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Bass joins billionaire investor George Soros as a bull on the retailer. Soros went long Penney shortly after CEO Ron Johnson was ousted in the spring after just 17 months on the job.

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital, meanwhile, owns about an 18 percent stake in J.C. Penney. Ackman had handpicked Johnson to run the company. Last week, Ackman resigned from the J.C. Penney board, after two years of campaigning to transform the troubled department store operator.

On Tuesday, the retailer posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss of $1.17 a share on $2.66 billion in sales, but its same-store sales improved.

(Read more: JC Penney earnings bad, but not that bad)


Reporting by CNBC's David Faber.