Groupon Pops 20% After Q4 Beat, Alibaba Stake

Groupon Inc GRPN shares are trading higher by $0.80 at $4.58 in Wednesday's session. A pair of catalysts account for the the 20 percent gain.

Before its Q4 report Wednesday morning, it was reported Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA has 5.7 percent passive stake in the company as of December 31. This is notable since it has been rumored in the past that Alibaba may be interested in purchasing the company. This news had the issue at the $4.00 area, up from Tuesday's close ($3.78) ahead of the report.

See Also: Groupon's Bounce-Back Quarter

Groupon then reported a Q4 EPS beat of a nickel along with a $22 million beat for revenues. After a much higher open, it retreated only a dime to $4.30 before continuing its move higher. So far, the ensuing rally has taken the issue to $4.65 and has backed off that high. That marks the highest level for the issue since it peaked on October 27 at $4.84.

It should be noted that was the high for the day following its earnings report.