Unusual Options Activity: Nuance Communications (NUAN)

AI speech company Nuance Communications (NUAN) moved higher on Monday as Microsoft (MSFT) announced it was buying the company. One trader sees the possibility for a bidding war that may lead to a higher price for shares. That’s based on the January 2022 $65 call. Over 5,145 contracts traded after the merger news, a 30-fold rise in the prior open interest of 171 contracts. The buyer of the option paid $0.33 on average to make the trade. The merger news with Nuance ...
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Insider Trading Report: Discovery Inc (DISCA)

Gunnar Wiedenfels, CFO of Discovery Inc (DISCA) bought 40,000 shares of the company last month. The buy increased his holdings by 400 percent, and occurred right before a hedge fund implosion triggered a selloff in shares. Over the past year, company insiders have been net sellers of shares, as the company went from a price in the low $20 range into the $80 range before its selloff. Prior to the surge in the past year, insiders and sellers have generally been ...
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Over-the-Top Performance Shows the Value of this Tech Giant Play

Nvidia (NVDA) has done it again. The graphics processing giant just took the thunder from a number of competitors by releasing the specs on its first line of data-center chips. That will open up an entirely new market for the company, and one with massive potential in a world driven by a need to quickly process big data. The company also noted that it would likely exceed its revenue forecast, as the firm has been a beneficiary from the recent semiconductor ...
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Unusual Options Activity: Barclays PLC (BCS)

British bank Barclays PLC (BCS) has been trending higher in the past six months, but the rate of the rally has started to slow in recent weeks. Traders seem to be sensing a weakness ahead for the bank. That’s based on the September $10 put. With 156 days until expiration, over 8,080 contracts traded against a prior open interest of 126, for a 64-fold rise in volume. The buyer of the puts paid about $0.80 for the trade. With shares just over ...
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Insider Trading Report: Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (CRNX)

Perceptive Life Sciences Master Fund, a major owner in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (CRNX), recently added to its stake with a 304,136 share buy. The purchase increased the fund’s holdings by over 8 percent, and came to a total cost of $5 million. This buy marks the first insider activity of the year. 2020 saw a number of both buys and sells, including an earlier buy from this major holder. Crinetics is a clinical stage company focusing on therapeutics for endocrine diseases and ...
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Unusual Options Activity: Two Harbors Investment Corp (TWO)

Mortgage REIT Two Harbors Investment Corp (TWO) has seen shares slow from a strong rally in recent months to a more sideways trend. One trader is betting that shares are due for a drop. That’s based on the May 21st $7 puts. With just over a month left on the trade, and with shares around $7.40, the put option will move higher on a drop in shares. Over 10,160 contracts traded, a 28-fold rise in volume from the prior open interest ...
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This Utility-Like Play Offers Income and Modest Growth

Heavily-regulated industries tend to be mature, offering little in the way of growth, but most earnings can be given to shareholders as income. While power generation and telecoms tend to be fairly stable, the next step up the growth chain is that of waste management stocks. Not as regulated as these other industries, they tend to operate as a monopoly or duality in a municipality. That provides safety of cash flows, which in turn can translate into steadily growing profits and gradually ...
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Streaming Trends Make this Hardware Play Worth Following

One of the past few trends of the past few years has come from streaming. A number of media companies have considerably expanded their offerings in the past few years. While the media companies themselves are likely to benefit, companies providing streaming hardware and software in general can profit from the ongoing rise of streaming even without having to benefit from a specific media company’s growth. One such play is Roku (ROKU). They provide a platform device that allows for streaming services, ...
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