APT Stock Hits New Highs on Face Mask Demand

The company said it has booked roughly $14.1 million orders for its N-95 face mask

Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (NYSE:APT) is surging in early trading after the firm updated the status of orders for its proprietary N-95 face mask in direct response to the COVID-19 outbreak. APT said it has booked roughly $14.1 million in orders since Jan. 27, an increase of $3.6 million since its previous report last week. The security has added 53% to trade at $19 this morning, with the shares touching record highs already.

The stock has been surging higher lately, up over 219% in this week alone. Looking back at this month, it appears that APT has found a floor at its 40-day moving average, which caught a brief pullback before launching the stock higher. Not only that, the equity is eyeing its sixth consecutive win, and its biggest one-day percentage pop since 2014.

Despite this, short interest surrounding the security has skyrocketed. The 1 million shares sold short now represent roughly 10% of the stock's available float, or a little under a day at APT's average daily pace of trading.