Vista Equity Partners' offer is worth nearly $25 per share
Cybersecurity stock Knowbe4 Inc (NASDAQ:KNBE) is 12.6% higher to trade at $24.30, after it was revealed that Vista Equity Partners is closing in on a deal to buy the company. According to the Wall Street Journal, the private equity firm is closing in on a deal to buy KnowBe4 for about $4.5 billion, or $24.90 per share in cash.
Today's breakout has the shares at their highest level since April 29. When rumors of the acquisition surfaced in mid September, KNBE gapped higher by 28% on Sept. 19. Since then, the shares have support in place at their ascending 20-day moving average.
At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), KNBE sports a 50-day call/put volume ratio of 4.32, which stands higher than 81% of readings from the past year. In other words, the penchant for bullish bets over the last 10 weeks is abnormally high.