...and now that I have given this a little more thought ... suppose there is manipulation going on by the MMs.  Do we have to assume that this is somehow sinister?  It could be that the MMs are marching this thing up stairstep style in an orderly fashion so as to not overheat this puppy.  Some of the mo mo players - who are already here or will be soon - will hit the sell button and unload once a stock hits a premeditated Relative Strength Indicator level - great story or not.  Could be by walking this thing up slowly prior to any settlement announcement the MMs are doing us all a huge favor.  They make their money by exercising trades and in this case by creating a more stable rise and run-up they create a greater likelihood of increased sustainable numbers of trades and their interests may very well be aligned with ours.   Ever think of that?