Shares in Sears Holdings Corp. rose sharply Friday as Wall Street reacted to news that activist hedge fund manager William Ackman had taken a stake in the department-store retailer.

Ackman bought 5 million shares in Sears, a spokeswoman for his New York-based Pershing Square Capital Management said.

While Ackman’s large stakes and agitating have succeeded in forcing real estate sales or other actions at McDonald’s Corp., Wendy’s International Inc. and Target Corp. in the past, his impact at Sears could be limited since Lampert, who also runs a hedge fund, maintains a 46 percent stake and full control.

Sears’ operations include Kmart, which has a distribution center in Lawrence.

Sears shares jumped $7.84, or 5.5 percent, to close at $149.24 on Friday after sinking as low as $129.75 on Tuesday.