Healthcare Stock Set to Soar 70% After Patent Win

MBOT shed 88.8% in 2018

The shares of Microbot Medical Inc (NASDAQ:MBOT) are up a whopping 70% in electronic trading this morning, after the medical device maker was granted a patent for its ViRob technology platform by the European Patent Office. The company also reported upbeat study results from its self-cleaning shunt designed for traumatic brain injury.

MBOT is set to open as the top stock on the Nasdaq this morning, and is on track for its best day since Aug. 2016. So far year-to-date, Microbot Medical stock is up nearly 40% as of Friday's close of $2.40, but was awful in 2018, racking up an 88.8% deficit. It sunk to a record low of $1.38 back on Dec. 18, with breakouts the last six months contained by its 30-day moving average. Thanks to today's potential gains, though, the shares are on track to trade above their 80-day moving average for the first time since June.

Short sellers are starting to head for the exits, down nearly 22% after hitting an all-time high of 617,661 shares back in November. Still, the 483,420 shares currently sold short represents 26.1% of MBOT's total available float.