Trading Tips Blog

Consumers have been spending more in the past year, but overall sales are down. It’s inflation that’s causing the total rise, at least for the moment. Retailers are having to deal with two conflicting issues. Supply chain disruptions are leading to genuine shortages. And consumers cutting back on spending due to inflation is leading to an inventory excess in other areas. “Cheap chic” retailer Target (TGT) sounded this unusual warning. The company cut its earnings guidance on Tuesday, leading to shares ...
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Edward Shapiro, a director at United Airlines Holdings (UAL), recently picked up 50,000 shares. The buy represents an initial stake by the director. The total cost to acquire the shares came to just over $2.35 million. This is the first insider buy at the company since late 2020. Over the past three years, company executives have been sellers of shares, with only a handful of buys from company directors. Overall, company insiders own 0.3 percent of shares. The airline company has seen ...
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Shares of pot stock Canopy Growth Corp (CGC) are down 84 percent in the past year. One trader is betting that steady downtrend will continue. That’s based on the October $10 puts. With 134 days until expiration, 10,002 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 342, for a 29-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $6.23 to make the downside bet. Shares last traded at about $4.25, so the option is priced with ...
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Companies that lead their industry tend to have some special factor that allows them to make a larger profit than competitors. This can be exploited with higher growth rates… or by using some extra tools to ensure they hold up better than the competition during a market decline. Such tools can come in the form of a dividend, an astute buyback, a major merger, or even splitting shares. A share split may not change the total size of a company, but a ...
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Michael Berry, EVP of Finance & Operations at NetApp (NTAP), recently picked up 5,000 shares. The buy increased his stake by 5.5 percent, and came to a total price of just over $360,000. This marks the first insider buy at the company since March 2021. Otherwise, insiders have largely been sellers at the company over the past three years, including a number of regular sales by the company CEO and the company president, among others. Overall, insiders own about 0.3 percent ...
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Shares of casino operator Las Vegas Sands (LVS) have shed nearly 40 percent in the past year. One trader sees further downside in the weeks ahead. That’s based on the July $29 puts. With 37 days until expiration, 4,196 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 149, for a 28-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $0.53 to get into the trade. Shares recently traded just over $35, but have a 52-week low ...
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In frustrating markets, a few long-term strategies can work well that investors may want to consider now. One such strategy is to invest in companies that pay dividends. Taking that approach gives investors a longer-term view. Within the dividend-paying universe, companies that have a history of raising their dividends tend to perform even better than those that just pay a dividend. Over time, the results can compound for market-beating performance, as long as investors remain patient. One such company that just raised ...
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Jay Farner, CEO at Rocket Companies (RKT), recently added 45,900 shares. The buy increased his holdings by nearly 2 percent, and came to a total purchase price of around $400,000. This follows up on other buys from the company CEO since the start of the year. Each buy is usually in the $400,000 to $600,000 area. The last insider sale at the company occurred in March 2021. Overall, insiders at the company own about 1.7 percent of shares. The mortgage company provider ...
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