Facebook Blasts To New All-Time On Heavy Volume

Joel Elconin is the co-host of Benzinga's #PreMarket Prep, a daily trading idea radio show. Facebook Inc FB shares were trading higher by $1.67 92 percent) at $82.58 in Thursday's session. The catalyst for the rally to new all-time highs may be positive comments from JP Morgan and Nomura regarding Facebook's new Payment feature. Coincidentally, Morgan Stanley and SunTrust made similar comments on Wednesday. After a higher open, it only retreated slightly before finding support above Wednesday's close ($80.91), reaching $81.00 before exploding to the upside. The ensuing rally has surpassed its former all-time high ($82.17) and is now approaching the $83.00 level. It should be noted that the breakout to the upside is taking place on higher than average volume. So far it has traded 20 million shares versus its 20-day average of 24 million, with over four hours left in the trading session.