No Stopping Groupn After Rumors Of Alibaba Bid

Groupon Inc.

shares are trading higher by $0.50 at $4.34 in Friday's session. Earlier in the week, the issue had one of its biggest move in years, when it catapluted from $2.89 to $4.08, when it was reported that Alibaba Group

had taken a passive 5.6 percent stake in the company. That rally took place after the issue had rallied from $2.24 to $2.89 On February12 after the release of its better-than-expected Q4 report. Now it appears, that Alibaba;s stake may not be so passive. Shortly after the open, a report from Young China Biz revealed that Alibaba was likely to enter takeover with Groupon. Short sellers in Groupon are not waiting for the outcome and has instigated massive buying in the issue. After a higher open, it has continued to rip higher on heavy volume. With five hours remaining in the session, it has already 21.5M shares compared to its 20 day average of 17.9M So far, it has surpassed Tuesday's high ($4.24), reaching $4.45 and is trading right near that level. Groupon has not traded in the $5 handle since last July.