Groupon Higher Off Renewed And Unconfirmed Alibaba Interest

Groupon Inc GRPN shares are trading higher by $0.10 (2.7 percent) at $3.60 in Thursday's session.

The issue was trading near its low for the session, when there was unconfirmed chatter that Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA, which already has a 5.6 percent stake, may be interested in buying the company.

As a result, the issue rallied to $3.63, and as of 12:48 p.m ET, has not backed off that intra-day high. If the rally continues, there may be additional resistance at the pair of highs from January 5 ($3.73) and January 6 ($3.74).

It should be noted that similar rumors were circulated in March 2016, which instigated a rally to the $6.00 area. But as no deal surfaced, the issue went into an extended decline before it found a temporary bottom on December 29 at $3.29.