Back in September 2024, I made what I openly called a crazy bet:

Bought 40 shares of AbCellera (ABCL) for $103.20 total.
Why? Peter Thiel owned it. That was the whole thesis. It felt irresponsible in just the right way.

Well, fast-forward to now:

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📈 Trade Update

• Sold 20 shares for $104.58 total
• Which means:
  ✅ Original investment recovered
  ✅ $1.38 profit locked in
  ✅ Still holding 20 shares, cost basis now technically negative

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🎯 So… What Happened?

Turns out ABCL actually pulled it together:

• The stock doubled.
• It hit new 52-week highs.
• Analysts started caring.
• Their pipeline looks less like a science experiment and more like a business.

Everything I hoped might vaguely happen… happened.

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The thesis? Let’s not overstate it: Peter Thiel owned it. That was enough for me. It felt borderline irresponsible, which made it fun. The price was low, the company had a story, and the market wasn’t paying attention.

I called it my “crazy” bet:

👉 My Latest Crazy Bet: $103.20 on AbCellera, Because Why Not Copy Peter Thiel?

Fast forward to now: I just sold half the position—20 shares—for $104.58 total. That’s right:
✅ I made back the entire original investment
✅ From selling just half the shares
✅ And now I’m holding the remaining 20 for free

Let’s talk about how this happened, why the stock popped, and why I’m such a fan of this approach.

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The Setup: A Tiny, Contrarian Position

I didn’t go big on ABCL. At ~$2.58 per share, it was dirt cheap. $103.20 got me 40 shares, and it scratched an itch I had at the time: betting on a beaten-down biotech with deep pockets, a long-term vision, and some cult-Thiel credibility.

I wasn’t buying because I had a secret edge. I was buying because I liked the asymmetry: limited downside (it was already trading near all-time lows) and a possible multibagger upside if sentiment flipped.

Turns out, that flip happened.

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The Chart: From Whim to Win

Here’s what the stock did over the past 10 months:

(Green = Buy | Red = Sell Half)

As you can see, ABCL went on a quiet tear from late 2024 through mid-2025, more than doubling in price.

By the time I sold 20 shares in July 2025, the stock was trading above $5.20. I got $104.58 back—more than my original investment—while still holding 20 shares.

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Why Did ABCL Go Up?

Let’s be honest: this was not a meme stock move. This was a quiet, fundamentals-driven breakout that most retail investors probably missed.

Here are the main reasons:

🔬 1. Pipeline Progress

ABCL has been steadily expanding its portfolio:

• 97 programs underway, 16 molecules in clinical development
• They’ve been increasing the number of programs they own internally
• A growing ability to not just license molecules—but to push them forward

💰 2. Financial Strength

• Over $800M in cash, no debt
• Low burn rate, enough capital to fund years of operations and R&D
• Insulated from the typical biotech funding panic

🧠 3. Smart Money Came Back

Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund didn’t sell. In fact, they doubled down in earlier quarters. As institutional interest returned, retail caught on.

📈 4. Technical Breakout

ABCL broke above its 200-day moving average in early 2025. Momentum traders and quant screens started to pick it up. Volume followed. Analysts upgraded. Price targets were raised.

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The Strategy: Double Up, Free Stock

What I did here—buying low, waiting for a pop, then selling half to recover my capital while holding the rest “for free”—is something I’ve written about before:

👉 The “Double Up, Free Stock” Strategy

The idea is simple:

When a position doubles, sell half. You’ve got your original money back. What’s left is pure upside.

In my case, the stock didn’t even have to double—the move was strong enough that just selling 20 shares got me back more than my initial $103.20.

Now I own the remaining 20 shares with a cost basis of $0.00.

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Why This Works (Even When It Shouldn’t)

• Small bets create big wins. I risked $103.20 and made a play that now has unlimited upside.
• You don’t have to be right for long. ABCL may tank next quarter. Doesn’t matter—I already made my money back.
• Psychology shifts when risk is gone. With the “house money” shares, I’m calm. No FOMO. No panic.

The “crazy” trade isn’t crazy if you have a system that de-risks it.

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What’s Next?

I’ll keep holding the rest. I have no particular timeline. If ABCL keeps executing, these shares could ride toward $8–$10 or more. If not? I’m already out clean.

And if another biotech (or AI, or shipping stock, or SPAC zombie) collapses in price and catches my eye? You better believe I’m going in with another $100–200 for the next “crazy” bet.

This time, though, I won’t call it crazy.
I’ll call it disciplined speculation.

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TL;DR

Would I do it again? Already looking.

Bought 40 shares of ABCL in Sept 2024 for $103.20

Sold 20 shares in July 2025 for $104.58

Holding 20 shares with no capital at risk

Why? Double Up, Free Stock.