Trading Tips Blog

Payment systems company
Block (SQ) dropped following its earnings report last week. One trader sees shares rebounding in the coming months. That’s based on the December $50 calls. With 128 days until expiration, 16,004 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 193, for an 83-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $17.00 to make the bullish bet. Shares last went for about $64, making the option about $14 in-the-money, and leaving only $3 in ...
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Every few years, if less, investors find a new tech story to love. The past few years has seen interest shift to artificial intelligence, following an interest in the growth of electric vehicles, as well as blockchain and cryptocurrency technology. One trend is a bit older, having been around for nearly 10 years. And as a more mature trend, it’s leading to big cash flows and profits for companies embracing it now. That trend is the cloud. Cloud services have grown tremendously ...
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Steven Mollenkopf, a director at
Boeing (BA), recently added 850 shares. The buy increased his holdings by 29 percent, and came to a total cost of $201,450. This marks the first insider buy at the airplane manufacturer this year. Last year saw Mollenkopf buy on two occasions, picking up nearly 1,800 shares. Another director bought 5,000 shares, and the company CEO bought 25,000 shares as well. There have been two small insider sales so far this year. Overall, company insiders own 0.1 ...
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Semiconductor manufacturer
Intel (INTC) has been rallying this year, after investors wrote off the company last year for hotter plays in the chip market. One trader is betting that shares will continue higher through next spring. That’s based on the March 2024 $41 calls. With 220 days until expiration, 7,143 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 229, for a 31-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $2.11 to make the bullish bet. Shares recently ...
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Stocks that lead the market in one year will likely lag the next. The reverse is also true. Even during a bull market, some stocks and sectors soar higher, while others underperform. But they tend to win out when the trend shifts. This year’s market rally has been driven by tech stocks. And fears of a slowdown in consumer spending have hit companies with strong brands hard. But companies lagging this year could still be winners in the months ahead. One potential ...
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Jeffrey Ubben, a director at
Exxon Mobil (XOM), recently added 458,000 shares. The buy increased his stake by 19 percent, and came to a total cost of $48.97 million. The director was the last insider to buy shares, with a purchase in August 2022 of 1 million shares, coming to $88.45 million. Otherwise, company insiders have been modest sellers of shares over the psat year, exclusively at the VP level. Overall, Exxon insiders own just under 0.1 percent of shares. The oil giant’s ...
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Information technology consulting company
DXC Technology (DXC) sank nearly 30 percent last Thursday, as the company missed on earnings and cut guidance. One trader is betting on a further drop in the months ahead. That’s based on the January $15 puts. With 164 days until expiration, 4,710 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 110, for a 43-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $0.87. Shares closed near $19 following the earnings drop, so shares ...
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The past few months have shown a big slowdown in inflation. It’s also shown that consumers are willing to ditch their favorite brands to find less expensive substitutes. However, that trend likely won’t last forever. As prices in general rise, even substitute brands may not entice consumers as they once did. That could bode well for companies that have a strong basket of brands, even if their profitability has been hit in the short-term. For instance,
Kraft Heinz (KHC) reported a decline ...
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