Unusual Options Activity: Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY)

Shares of pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) are up about 10 percent over the past year. One trader is betting that shares will continue higher in the next month. That’s based on the August $70 calls. With 29 days until expiration, 6,809 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 129, for a 53-fold jump in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $4.23 to make the bet. Shares recently traded for just over $73, making these ...
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Continued Chip Demand Makes for Long-Term Buying Opportunities Now

Congress is weighing on legislation to support domestic semiconductor production before it goes on recess. The goal is to counter the global chip shortage. If passed, it will make it easier for mega-factories to be built stateside, but the chip shortage is still likely to continue. That’s because demand remains strong, and many new technologies require a larger number of more advanced chips than ever before. That bodes well across the industry. One company set to benefit from the shortage, and get ...
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Insider Trading Report: Delta Airlines (DAL)

David Taylor, a director at Delta Airlines (DAL), recently added 10,000 shares. The buy increased his holdings by just over 21 percent, and came to a total price of just over $293,000. This marks the second buy at the company this year, also from a director. Company executives have been sellers of shares this year, as high oil prices have weighed on returns. Over the past three years, insider buying has been fairly steady after drops, with insider sales rising after ...
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Unusual Options Activity: Apple (AAPL)

Shares of consumer tech giant Apple (AAPL) sank 2 percent on Monday on news that hiring would slow at the company. One trader sees shares shaking off the news and moving higher in the next few weeks. That’s based on the August 26th $147 calls. With 37 days until expiration, 15,718 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 176, for an 89-fold surge in volume. The buyer of the calls paid $6.93 to make the trade. The stock recently ...
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Stick With Proven Winners as Retail Spending Slows

While the latest data shows that retail spending is up – rising 1 percent in the past month—the rate of spending has slowed. That’s an indicator that consumers will likely cut back on luxury goods, and focus more on buying basics where they can get reasonable prices. For investors, that’s potentially bad news for a number of retail stocks. However, some companies tend to fare well as they provide customers a variety of goods at inexpensive prices. With retail stocks already ...
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Insider Trading Report: Rent-A-Center Inc (RCII)

Jeffrey Brown, a director at Rent-A-Center Inc (RCII), recently added 1,223 shares to his holdings. The buy increased his stake by just over 1.6 percent, and came to a total cost of just over $25,000. The director last bought shares in April, paying about the same amount for only 962 shares. And other insiders have been active buyers in the past year as well, including a 40,000 share buy from the company CEO for just over $1 million back in March. Overall, ...
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Unusual Options Activity: EQT Corporation (EQT)

Shares of oil and gas exploration company EQT Corporation (EQT) are up 90 percent over the past year. One trader is betting that shares will rebound back to their 52-week highs in the coming months. That’s based on the December $40 calls. With 150 days until expiration, 4,632 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 101, for a 46-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $4.90 to get into the position. Shares currently trade ...
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Don’t Bet Against Today’s Tech Winners in Today’s Fearful Markets

The stock market is in a downtrend, and that will likely continue until the Federal Reserve stops its current policy of raising interest rates. This downtrend is throwing out great companies along with weaker ones, and has hit the tech space fairly hard. That’s creating one of the best buying opportunities for investors in tech in years. That’s especially true with companies that can still deliver on growth in a slowing economy. Case in point is wireless semiconductor chip company Qualcomm (QCOM) ...
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