Short Squeeze Alert: PRTA Potential Moonshot After News Of Billion Dollar Deal

Thinly traded biotech Prothena Corporation plc (PRTA) is up about 5% in the pre-market on light volume after announcing a $1.2 billion deal where Novo Nordisk will buy Prothena's heart drug. The deal includes $100 million in an upfront and near-term milestone payments, extending PRTA's cash runway by close to a year.

PRTA started going parabolic on Friday, hitting a new high of $67.08 on Friday before closing up 7% to $59.24. With this news hitting the pre-market and the light volume, this could cause a major short squeeze. Yahoo Finance stats show that PRTA has 2.14 million in short interest. This isn't too large, comprising 9% of the 22.71 million float. But PRTA is a very thinly traded stock with less than 500,000 shares traded in a day on average. If shorts capitulate like they started to do on Friday, this could cause a major squeeze. Short interest has been in the 2 million range since the start of April, slightly growing from there. With the stock price having nearly tripled from then, shorts are losing badly and may be forced out of their position. 

















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