Insider Trading Report: Palantir Technologies (PLTR)

Cathie Wood of ARK Investments, a major holder in Palantir Technologies (PLTR), picked up more shares of the company after its earnings report last week. The total buys across a number of funds came to nearly $140 million, or 5.2 million shares. That contrasts some modest sales made by ARK in late June. Overall, institutions like ARK Investments own just 25 percent of shares, and company insiders themselves own about 12.8 percent of company shares. The data analytics company just reported that ...
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Unusual Options Activity: Comcast (CMCSA)

Shares of media and cable company Comcast (CMCSA) have been moving steadily higher over the past year. One trader expects that trend to continue in the next few months. That’s based on the November $57.50 calls. With just under 100 days until expiration, 9,415 contracts traded against an open interest of 331, for a 28-fold rise in volume. The buyer of the calls paid about $3.60 to make the trade. With shares around $59.30, the option is nearly $2.00 in-the-money at ...
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The Best Winners Never Move in a Straight Line

In fact, no asset moves up or down in a straight line. Even a stock or sector in a hot uptrend can be hit with a wild downtrend. Traders astute enough to recognize a temporary setback rather than a cyclical change are likely able to fare well by buying a dip and obtaining the best possible profit. Last week, Morgan Stanley (MS) warned on memory maker stocks, nothing that the pricing environment would be difficult going into next year. Time will tell ...
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Insider Trading Report: Cigna Corp (CI)

Donna Zarcone, a director at Cigna Corp (CI) recently picked up 1,000 shares. The buy increased her stake by nearly 4 percent, and came at a total cost of just under $211,000. This is the first insider buy at the healthcare plan company in nearly a year, following a buy last September from the company CFO. Overall, insiders have been hefty sellers of shares, even as the price has continued to climb higher. Insiders own about 1.5 percent of all company ...
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Unusual Options Activity: PG&E Corporation (PCG)

Shares of utility provider PG&E Corporation (PCG) have been trending down since last November. One trader sees the potential for a big spike upwards. That’s based on the January $14 calls. With 158 days until expiration, over 16,030 contracts traded against a prior open interest of 287, for a 56-fold rise in volume. The buyer of the calls paid about $0.25 to make the trade. With shares of the company just over $9, the option would move in-the-money on a 50 percent ...
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This Failed IPO Play Is Now Turning Around

The past few years has seen an explosion in companies going public through the IPO process. Most are successes, seeing shares immediately rise as they start trading. However, there have been a number of companies that have initially slid from their opening price, creating what’s called a “failed IPO.” Some companies have been able to recover in time, most famously social media giant Facebook (FB) which had a failed IPO when it first went public. The most recent failed IPO? Coinbase (COIN) ...
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Insider Trading Report: ConocoPhillips (COP)

RA Walker, a director at ConocoPhillips (COP) recently bought 22,500 shares. The stake represents an initial buy for the director, and came to a total cost of just under $1.5 million. This marks the second insider buy since May at the company. As with many large cap companies, a number of insiders are also sellers, although the total insider activity has been rather small overall over the past two years. Overall, company insiders own just 0.1 percent of company shares. The stock ...
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Unusual Options Activity: Lithium Americas (LAC)

Shares of commodity producer Lithium Americas (LAC) have been somewhat rangebound over the past few months, but have started to trend higher in recent days. One trader sees that trend continuing. That’s based on the September $25 calls. With 36 days until expiration, over 15,585 contracts traded against an open interest of 290 for a 54-fold rise in volume. The buyer of the calls paid about $0.45 to make the trade. Shares have recently risen to around $18, so they’d need to ...
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