"Devastated" Trader Crushed By Soaring Biotech, Starts Online Begging Campaign To Fund $106,000 Margin Call

hare51

And now, what may be the craziest story of the day.

Less than a week ago, one of the countless fly-by-night biotech pennystocks, drug developer KaloBios Pharmaceuticals said it would wind down its operations and that it had engaged restructuring firm Brenner Group to help liquidate its assets. The company said it was "highly unlikely that exploring strategic options could generate a viable transaction within the time frame, given its limited cash resources."

At that moment the stock was trading between $1-2/share, representing a market cap between $5 and $10 million, or in other words, liquidation value.

And then, last night, America's "most hated person", Martin Shkreli, whose price-gouging antics were the catalyst that unleashed the biotech rout over a month ago, decided to get involved.

As KBIO announced after the close, the company "has been informed that an investor group comprised of Martin Shkreli and associates together have acquired more than 50% of the outstanding shares of KaloBios, and that the company is in discussions with Mr. Shkreli regarding possible direction for the company to continue in operation. Mr. Shkreli is the founder and chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company.

"We have received communications from Mr. Shkreli informing us of his group's ownership position, and a proposal to continue the company's operations," said Ronald Martell, Executive Chairman of KaloBios. "Our board of directors is prepared to entertain any constructive proposal, which we will act upon promptly. Addressing short-term cash needs is our first priority, and we continue to be open to further dialogue," he concluded.

As a result, the stock exploded higher, and has since hit a whopping $16/share in the pre-market, an increase of over 650%.