One of the two speculative healthcare stock bets that may pay off this week is MRI Interventions (OTC:MRIC), which went public last summer (May 2012) and has seen investors quietly rallying around the stock.

 In fact, accumulation of MRIC shares has been on a very steady rise since July as speculators have been betting that the company’s disruptive technology—which revolutionizes the way minimally-invasive brain surgeries are performed—is set to increase market share with sales to hospitals gaining traction at a higher than anticipated pace.

MRIC’s ClearPoint system, which saw FDA regulatory approval in 2010, lets neurosurgeons see inside the brain in real-time using direct MRI guidance with specific coordinates, while performing minimally invasive surgical procedures for an optimal trajectory path. This is completely different and superior to the conventional procedure currently performed blindly by neurosurgeons that use technology and tools which have been around for more than 60 years.

During the last few sessions, the stock has become heavily shorted without any fundamental reason and despite recent insider buying . If good news flow continues to flow, these shorts could be squeezed pretty tightly and share price could start to push higher.

Again, speculators are betting that the company will report good news/guidance this week—which will cause a healthy short-squeeze. Here is a look at the MRIC chart:

The second stock is Tekmira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TKMR). This one spiked to a 52-week high last Thursday and finished the session with trading volume that surpassed their volume from the previous three days. We’re looking for confirmation that the positive trend may continue after some profit-taking on Friday. There was a pull-back from overbought levels after stock prices hit a new high of 5.44.

Speculators are placing their bets on the outcome of this week’s upcoming trial against Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY) in which TKMR alleges their trade secrets regarding lipid particles for effective delivery of therapeutic siRNA were misappropriated.

If TKMR is able to prove their allegation that ALNY misappropriated confidential information they had provided under a deal that gave ALNY the right to use their lipid delivery technology with its own drug candidates to develop its own delivery vehicles then the payout could be monumental.

Alnylam warned its own investors that damages could be as high as $1.5 billion if TKMR (which currently trades at a $70M market cap) could be transformed by the results of this trial, including a possible settlement or $14/share takeover, which industry observers see as a possibility. Last summer, one Tekmira Official said he saw a 'Resolution' to Alnylam Dispute might come before year end.

Ahead of the trial, it is possible that if the stock continues to trade above the recent break-out level --which now becomes support-- this could be confirmation of a move higher.

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