Trading Tips Blog

Video conferencing company Zoom Video Communications (ZM) is trading flat over the past year. One trader sees shares trending lower in the months ahead. That’s based on the June $80 puts. With 107 days until expiration, 48,505 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 365, for a massive 133-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $11.40 to make the bearish bet. Zoom shares recently traded for about $70, meaning the $80 puts are already ...
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“Picks and shovels.” That’s the term used for companies that supply the hardware needed to support a boom. While it may have started with a gold rush, today’s picks and shovels are often the key pieces of hardware needed to run today’s software. As the AI Boom continues to roll out, pick-and-shovel plays can continue to benefit. The hardware sellers may not make the biggest profit margins or even get the headlines. But they stand to win. Specifically, they stand to make ...
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Tarang Amin, a director at J.M. Smucker (SJM), recently bought 900 shares. The buy increased his position by 90 percent, and came to a total cost of $109,998. The director was the most recent buyer with a 1,000 share buy back in December, at a cost of $125,050. Otherwise, company insiders have been moderate sellers of shares, with about half the sales coming from the exercise of stock options. Overall, Smucker insiders own 3.5 percent of shares. The packaged foods giant is ...
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Oil pipeline company Kinder Morgan (KMI) is trading flat over the past year. Declining energy prices and a lack of interest in the space have kept a lid on shares. One trader sees a jump higher in the month ahead. That’s based on the April 5th $18 call option. With 31 days until expiration, 8,153 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 141, for a 58-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $0.16. Kinder ...
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AI stocks have been soaring over the past year and change. Most of the focus has been on big-cap tech companies. They have the big bucks to invest heavily in these technologies right away. But there are other ways to play the trend. While not every AI stock will be a winner going forward, companies seeing real returns already may continue to benefit, and reward shareholders moving forward. One potential winner here is developer C3.AI (AI). The software company posted ...
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William Fisher, a director at Cummings (CMI), recently bought 562 shares. The buy increased his position by 111 percent, and came to a total cost of $149,810. This marks the first insider buy at the company over the past two years. Company insiders have largely been sellers of shares following the exercise of stock options, with sales sometimes ranging as high as over $13 million from the company’s Chairman. Overall, Cummins insiders own 0.4 percent of shares. The engine manufacturer is ...
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Digital payment company Block (SQ) has been an underperforming stock in the past year, with shares just breaking even after a big earnings beat. One trader sees shares trending lower in the weeks ahead. That’s based on the May $70 puts. With 73 days until expiration, 26,315 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 1,128, for a 23-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $3.30 to make the bearish bet. Block recently trade near ...
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Consumers have made some big shifts in recent years. The pandemic fueled spending on home goods and electronics. Then, consumers shifted away from buying those products in favor of services such as travel and tourism. Today, consumer spending is showing some signs of shifting. That shift indicates that consumers may be more price-conscious following inflation, meaning they’ll want to look for the lowest-priced bargains. That may explain why eBay (EBAY) is faring well here. The online auction leader just beat ...
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