Carl Icahn’s Favorite Small-Cap Stocks: CVR Energy, Inc. (CVI), The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (HAIN), Mentor Graphics Corp (MENT)

Navistar International Corp (NYSE:NAV) claims 2% of his assets, receiving an allotment of over $250mm from the fund. The commercial, recreational, and military vehicle manufacturer struggled through 2012, delivering negative double-digit returns. However, a recent earnings beat at the beginning of this month brought on an upgrade to Overweight by JP Morgan (despite net profit still being in the red, similar to past quarters). The beat and the bulge bracket bank’s $45 price target sent shares soaring; the stock has exploded over 40% since then. Billionaire Mario Gabelli of GAMCO Investors owns nearly $100mm worth of NAV (take a look at his fund’s top stocks here).

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) is a $1.3bn interactive entertainment and video game developer that occupies a 1% spot in Icahn’s portfolio. TTWO is pairing with NAV to ensure Icahn has a great start to 2013; the stock is up over 40% since the turn of the year. TTWO delivered an earnings beat at the start of February that included an authorization for a 7.5mm share buyback (equivalent to over 8% of the float). The stock could climb higher as more details and an eventual launch of the Playstation 4 materialize. Billionaire Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management has a debt investment in TTWO (see his fund’s positions here).

Disclosure: I do not own shares of any stocks mentioned in this article.