I think technical traders started the rally, then other things kicked in. When shorts see a rally they cover. Then dumb retail sees an even bigger rally and they jump on thinking something must be up.

There were some rumours at the same time such as a Chinese buyout/joint venture led by people who claim inside intellignece that added to the pump. I have seen many of these and they rarely have any substance, which ultimately leads to a drop, when technical traders who started the rally exit.

I have no idea what took us that couple of days to $2.80. Only that someone bought in heavily one day with litle concern about hiding it and many others jumped in figuring something must be up.

Remember that when painfilled longs sell and then see a rally, they often jump back in not knowing why any more than than knew why they sold. Everyone is expecting a permit pop and when they see a rally they may jump in thinking something must be up.

I make a pretty decent amount of money trading technical rally's and they rarely have anything to do with fundamentals or news. Don't underestimate their power. The problem is that short term traders are not looking for huge long term gains. They play technicals for quick and often substantial gains, then exit before the price returns to below where it was when they bought in. I have done this many many times on many stocks and the short term gains can be tremendous.