Trading Tips Blog

Shares of entertainment giant
The Walt Disney Company (DIS) have been sliding in recent months. One trader sees a further decline in the days ahead. That’s based on the May 20th $108 puts. With 14 days until expiration, 5,340 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest 156, for a 34-fold increase in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $1.71 to bet on a further decline in shares. Shares last traded around $116, so they would need to decline ...
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The tech space has been a roller coaster over the past six months, and largely to the downside. Many big names retested their February lows in last week’s selloff. However, as earnings come in, traders can better separate the winners in today’s economy from those not faring as well. That’s especially true in a competitive space like hardware. Hardware is more like a commodity than software, but a company that makes quality hardware can still stand out. In the semiconductor hardware space, ...
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Karole Lloyd, a director at
Aflac (AFL), recently added 1,000 shares. The buy increased her position by just under 3 percent, and came to a total purchase price of just under $60,000. This marks the first insider buy at the company since last July. Since then, company insiders have been sellers. And insider selling has been more prevalent than insider buying over the past three years by a substantial margin, even as shares have soared higher. Company insiders still own about 9.6 ...
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Shares of oil and gas exploration company
Antero Resources Corporation (AR) are up over 240 percent in the past year. One trader sees a further rally in the months ahead. That’s based on the November $45 calls. With 197 days until expiration, 26,695 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 550, for a 49-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $4.80 to make the bet. The stock recently traded for around $37, so shares would ...
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Many companies offer just one product or service. Some of today’s large companies, however, offer many services and products (or even both). That’s especially true in the tech space, where rapid changes result in continued ongoing sales and support. Some of these companies have a number of businesses that could be broken out into separate parts. And right now, this “sum of the parts” analysis is starting to show that it may be time to start dipping a toe into some ...
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Kelly Ardrey, Chief Accounting Officer at
Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL), recently picked up 3,000 shares. The buy increased her stake by 97 percent, and came to a total purchase price just over $236,000. This is the first buy at the company since early March, when the CFO picked up 2,000 shares, and the Executive Chairman bought 25,000 shares at a cost of just over $1.9 million. Going further back, there have been both purchases and sales by insiders over the past three years, ...
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Shares of cable provider
Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) hit a 52-week low on Monday before turning higher. But one trader is betting that the stock will continue to decline in the months ahead. That’s based on the October $30 puts. With 170 days left, 16,266 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 894, for an 18-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $0.93 to enter the trade. Shares just traded near $40, so they would need ...
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Life is complex. A company that is executing a long-term plan may have to contend with short-term unexpected events. At one point or another, every company hits an unexpected snag and has to report a one-time problem. Sure, for some companies, those one-time events seem to occur more often than others. For others, they truly are unusual events likely to become a distant memory as long-term plans play out. For instance, many companies are taking a one-time hit right now due to ...
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