Trading Tips Blog

The past decade has seen the rise of economically viable forms of alternative energy. That’s occasionally spelled trouble for fossil fuel companies. Last year’s drop in oil into negative territory, fueled by traders trying to get out of a bad trade, has now become a distant memory. But the rise of socially responsible investing, now dubbed ESG for environmental, social and governance, is looking to make some big changes to big oil. The biggest potential change? Going carbon neutral. With ExxonMobil (XOM) ...
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The automotive industry had a strong year in 2020, but automotive stocks have had a rougher time in 2021 as a semiconductor shortage has shut down production for many carmakers. One trader sees the potential for a drop in General Motors (GM) in the coming weeks. That’s based on the July $57.50 puts. With 50 days until expiration, over 25,132 contracts traded against an open interest of 256, for a 98-fold rise in volume. The options are slightly in-the-money based on a ...
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A number of payments companies have started embracing cryptocurrencies in the past year, starting with Bitcoin. Some of those companies have struggled in recent weeks as the rapid moves in the cryptocurrency have had large swings in how these companies are valued. However, PayPal (PYPL) has held up more strongly than other names. That’s even as the company, along with its other division Venmo, has moved to increase its cryptocurrency trading abilities for customers in the past few months. However, right now, ...
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Pascal Desroches, a senior executive VP at AT&T (T), recently bought another 19,976 shares. The buy increased the VP’s stake by nearly 12 percent, and came to a total price just under $589,000. Company CEO John Stankey also bought 34,614 shares on the same day. The CEO paid just over $997,000 to add to his stake. Overall, insiders own just 0.1 percent of company shares. This duo of insider buys marks the first trades from company insiders since last July. Insiders ...
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Fuel cell energy company Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) saw shares rally to a speculative high back in February over $40, only to slide lower. One trader sees the potential for an even further drop in shares, despite a rally in recent sessions. That’s based on the June 18 $13 puts. With 23 days left to trade, over 46,524 contracts traded against a prior open interest of 104, for a staggering 447-fold rise in volume. The buyer of the puts paid about $0.10 ...
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Shares of home improvement retailer the Home Depot (HD) dropped last week despite a great earnings report. At least one trader sees the selloff as related to last week’s market weakness, with shares likely to bounce higher. That’s based on the June $320 calls. Over 1,032 contracts traded against a prior open interest of 101, for a 10-fold rise in volume. The option expires in one month, and the buyer of the option paid about $5.75 for the trade. With shares just ...
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Jeffrey Graves, President and CEO of 3D Systems Corp (DDD), recently picked up 4,100 shares. The buy increased his stake by 0.75 percent and came to a total purchase price of just over $101,000. This marks the first insider buy since September. Company insiders have generally been sellers over the past three years, but prior insider buys have been at far lower prices than where shares currently trade today. Overall, company insiders own about 2.7 percent of company shares. 3D Systems designs ...
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Graphics processing unit maker Nvidia (NVDA) announced plans to make a 4-for-1 share split on Friday. That gave shares of the company a quick boost, as it marks the first share split in 14 years for the firm. While the lower share price doesn’t change the company’s market cap, it does make trading easier, particularly for retail investors. It’s fairly common to see companies split shares as they continue a long-term rally. While Nvidia’s conventional valuation is a big high right ...
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