Trading Tips Blog

Shares of Cisco (CSCO) have been trending down the past few weeks. One trader betting that shares still have another 14 percent to decline. That’s the logic behind the move in the November 20th $32.50 puts. Over 8,800 of the contracts traded against an open interest of 22, for a 40-fold rise in volume. The option expires in 24 days, and from the current share price near $37.50, would require a 15 percent drop in shares to move in-the-money Cisco next reports ...
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Ari Levy, a director at Del Taco Restaurants (TACO), recently added 67,400 shares to his holdings. The buy came to just over $504,000. The director now owns over 3 million shares of the company. Insider data shows that company insiders have been massive buyers of shares in the past year, picking up nearly 500,000 shares in total. The last insider sale occurred in early 2019. All told, insiders own over 19 percent of shares. Like most fast-food names, the company’s ...
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Large companies in the technology space are facing increased regulatory scrutiny. Lawmakers of all political stripes are concerned with the abilities of big tech companies in nearly all facets of life. But for all the concerns about these companies buying up competitors or engaging in monopolistic practices, at least one analyst sees more upside ahead for the big-tech stocks. Why? Because these companies are big because they continue to innovate. That’s the logic of RBC Capital’s internet analyst. All the big-tech ...
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One trader sees a rally in the next month in Kennedy-Wilson (KW), a real estate company with a focus on multi-family properties. The November 20th $15 calls, expiring in 25 days, saw over 3,300 contracts trade against a prior open interest of 127. That’s a 26-fold rise in volume, a very unusual move for such a small company. The buyer paid $0.30 for the option, on average. Shares would need to rise about $1.00, or 6.3 percent from their price near $14 ...
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Hsenghung Hsu, a director at Fastenal (FAST), recently started a stake at the company with a 2,000 share buy. The buy came to just over $88,000. This follows on a 550 share buy from another director back in September. Prior to that, insiders have been sellers throughout the year, at prices as much as 12 percent higher than where shares currently trade. The buy comes after a rally that boosted the company’s shares by 18 percent in the past year. Overall, ...
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At least one trader sees some big downside ahead for Occidental Petroleum (OXY). That’s based on the 23,860 contracts traded on the February 2021 $8 put. With shares around $9.80, that implies a 19 percent decline in the next 119 days. The prior open interest on the option was 1,107 contracts, making for a 21-fold rise in volume. The trader also paid about $0.74 for the option. Shares would therefore need to hit $7.30 at expiration to profit. Shares of Occidental have ...
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The stock market has been increasingly driven by mega-cap corporations in recent years. Those companies have offered huge growth, but have also been largely in the tech space. That’s left a lot of potential great investments off-the-radar. Passive investors have driven more capital to the mega-caps, driving up their valuation. But with the tech companies petering out recently, investors may be interested in some of the small names out there, which offer a better value now. That’s the idea behind the Read More

One of the biggest trends in the past few years has been in the payment space. A number of companies are offering alternative ways to clear payments that bypass the existing credit card system or the banking system as well. Naturally, big banks have noticed, and are starting to get into the trend themselves. JPMorgan Chase (JPM), for example, just launched QuickAccept. The new service offers a mobile app and contactless card reader. The move is a shot across the bow ...
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