Insider Activity: Coty Inc (COTY)

Directors make multi-million dollar buy. Multiple insiders are making a buy at cosmetic company Coty (COTY). On September 4th, director Robert Singer bought 35,000 shares, a $325,000 purchase that increased his stake in the firm by nearly 15 percent. And director Peter Harf bought just over 1,050,000 shares, shelling out $9.98 million to do so, increasing his stake by 10 percent. Data for the past three years indicate that insiders have been buyers in that time, with their volume spiking this year. Coty ...
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Unusual Options Activity: Netflix (NFLX)

Shares to head higher through October. Over 10,500 contracts traded on the October $285 call option on Netflix (NFLX), a 76-fold increase in volume given the contract’s prior open interest of 140. With 43 days to go before expiration, the option is a bet that shares will trend higher. Netflix shares trade around $288, putting these $285 calls $3 in-the-money. Any change in Netflix shares from here should cause the option to move dollar-for-dollar, less the decline of the remaining time ...
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Insider Activity: 8×8 (EGHT)

CEO adds over 3,000 shares. Vikram Verma picked up over 3,000 shares of 8x8 (EGHT), where he serves as CEO. The buy cost just over $73,000 and leaves the CEO with just over 889,000 shares of the company. This marks his second buy this year, following a 4,200 share purchase in August. Insiders have a mixed track record at the company, with these CEO buys being offset by sales by the Chief Product officer year-to-date. 8x8 is a cloud communications company offering ...
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Insider Activity: FGL Holdings (FG)

Major hedge fund owner adds to stake of life insurer. Hedge fund Blackstone Group, already a 10 percent owner, has added to FGL Holdings (FG) with a 167,000 share buy. With a cost of $1.3 million, it increases the fund’s share count in FGL to just over 45 million shares. This is the second recent buy from Blackstone of FGL shares in the past week, with the second buy coming in at just under 290,000 shares at a cost of $2.3 million. Founded ...
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Wolfe Research Upgrades Big Banks

Trading revenue likely to rise in coming quarters. Although big banks have struggled as fears of lower interest rates indicate a slower economy and slower lending activity, some analysts are seeing potential upside ahead. In a research note, Wolfe Research upgraded big banks like JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC), citing the likelihood to surprise investors with higher trading revenue in the coming quarters, “if activity levels hold steady.” Additionally, lower funding costs for banks from the decline in ...
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Unusual Options Activity: Amarin Corporation (AMRN)

Bet in 50 percent drop in shares by October. On Friday before the long weekend, over 14,400 contracts traded on the October $10 put options on Amarin Corporation (AMRN). With a prior open interest of just 123 contracts, the trade saw a surge in volume over 116-fold! With a current share price around $15 per share, the $10 strike price is a bet on shares dropping by at least as much as one-third in the next 45 days. Amarin is a pharmaceutical company ...
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Insider Activity: Flexsteel Industries (FLXS)

CEO, CIO, CFO, and head of manufacturing, pick up shares. On Thursday, August 29th, Michael McClaflin, CIO at Flexsteel Industries (FLXS)picked up 2,350 shares. The total price came to just under $32,000, and represents his first purchase of shares at the company. He was joined by Carl Hayden, vice president of manufacturing, who bought 2,000 shares, also starting a stake at the company and paying $27,000 to do so. CFO Marcus Hamilton also joined in, buying 2,300 shares and increasing his stake ...
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Unusual Options Activity: NIO Inc. (NIO)

October put-buying suggests big drop soon. On Friday, over 20,240 contracts traded on the October 2019 $2.50 put option on NIO Inc (NIO). As the contract had a prior open interest of 422, this represents a 48-fold increase in volume on the bearish trade on shares. With shares of NIO trading around $2.90, the $2.50 bet is out-of-the-money at the moment, but could move to that strike price before these options expire in 46 days. NIO designs, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles around ...
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