Although the shady business practices of Facebook and its founder have been attracting a barrage of bad press, the guys paid to keep the stock pumped have held it aloft for months. Its failure to fill a dramatic short-squeeze gap created on January 31 attests to the power these operators have to spin the news so that shorts are always on the defensive.  FB has been in a holding pattern for two months, opportunistically awaiting the mildly ‘good’ news that would ram it up shorts’ wazoo. If it doesn’t come soon, though, DaBoyz may have to bring the stock down into the gap, since accumulation at current levels is growing increasingly expensive. In any case, no matter how we might view Zuckerberg and his methods, a thrust exceeding the 174.64 midpoint Hidden Pivot shown (inset; our minimum target for now) would put a target as high as 190.00 in play. _______ UPDATE (Apr 2, 4:02 p.m. ET): After taking a powerful, 3.30% leap today, FB stalled almost precisely at the 174.64 pivot before peaking at 174.90. Let’s stipulate that the stock close for two consecutive days above this number before inferring that a finishing stroke to 190.00 is a done deal.