Trading Tips Blog

Mega-bank Bank of America (BAC) has been a market favorite over the past year, beating the overall S&P 500 by nearly 50%. One trader sees shares trending even higher in the coming months. That’s based on the September $39 calls. With 104 days until expiration, 4,696 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 159, for a 30-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $2.38 to make the bullish bet. Bank of America shares recently ...
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Historically, all companies go through a period of rapid growth while they build market share. Once they hit saturation, they tend to see a decline. To avoid that, most companies have to innovate and come up with a new product or service to keep customers. For other assets, such as commodities, demand can fluctuate in cycles. Investors who buy near the low of the cycle and sell near the top can often make market-beating returns. Today, utility companies are behaving like commodity ...
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Richard Blackley, a director at SLM Corp (SLM) recently bought 11,702 shares. The buy came to a total cost of $249,378, and increased the director’s stake by 99%. This marks the first insider buy over the past year. Otherwise, there have been 8 insider sales over the last 12 months. That includes one sale from an EVP valued at over $1.9 million. And the company’s CFO was also a seller of shares. Overall, SLM insiders own 1% of shares. The student ...
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Drug manufacturer Pfizer (PFE) has struggled in the past year, with shares shedding nearly 25%. One trader sees a further decline in the coming weeks. That’s based on the July 5 $28 puts. With 28 days until expiration, 18,025 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 165, for a massive 109-fold increase in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $0.21 to make the bearish bet. Pfizer shares recently traded for about $29.50. They would need to ...
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Semiconductor companies have been on a tear. Part of their rally is driven by anything related to AI. But another part is the announcement of new chips that can truly expand on the breakthroughs occurring in AI today. Part of that could mean that some lagging companies may end up grabbing more market share. And that slower-growing companies out of the market’s favor may become the new market leaders in the quarters ahead. For instance, Intel (INTC) has struggled in recent years ...
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Jimmy Duan, Chief Customer Officer at BlackLine (BL), recently bought 2,000 shares. The buy increased his stake by 4%, and came to a total cost of $95,450. The buy came a week after the company Co-CEO bought 3,000 shares, paying $149,650 for the position. Those are the only insider buys over the past two years. Otherwise, company executives and directors have been moderate sellers of shares over the past two years. The last insider sales following the exercise of stock options ...
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Air carrier United Airlines Holdings (UAL) has been trending higher since October. One trader sees shares hitting an air pocket over the summer. That’s based on the September $46 puts. With 106 days until expiration, 47,599 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 306, for a massive 156-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $1.74 to make the bearish bet. UAL recently traded for about $52, so shares would need to drop by $6, ...
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“It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who has been swimming naked.” That Warren Buffett quite is about the danger of investing in companies during bull markets. Some companies that are flying high today may have some problems that are being overlooked. That trend could easily reverse. So with markets still near all-time highs, investors may want to look for companies that have clean financial books and are in good shape. One such company is Autodesk (ADSK). Shares have ...
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