Trading Tips Blog

Social media play Snap Inc (SNAP) has seen its shares surge to new all-time highs earlier this week. So it’s no surprise that at least one trader sees the company heading higher. That’s based on the January 8th 2021 $57 call. Expiring in 8 days, the bet is that shares, trading near $52.40, will rally another 8.7 percent. Over 10,200 of the contracts traded against a prior open interest of 111, for a 92-fold rise in volume. The buyer of the option ...
Read More

The stock market’s solid run this year has allowed companies to quickly shake off one of the fastest and steepest bear markets in history. A number of companies rightly remain below their pre-pandemic highs. But outside of airlines, cruise ships, and theater chains, a few other plays have likewise struggled. One of the top blue-chip manufacturing plays, which produces thousands of products has been a laggard here. And that’s in spite of the fact that some of its products have been essential ...
Read More

Funds can have a bad name. But when they have a manager on a hot streak, who runs a concentrated portfolio, and who can invest in strategies such as shorting the market and in SPACs, it might just be a top play of 2021. That’s the case with Pershing Square Holdings (PSHZF). Run by Bill Ackman, the fund is coming off a great year following Ackman’s bet against the market earlier in the year. The fund also owns some top-performing brands ...
Read More

Tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) has had a solid year. One trader sees shares surging even higher. That’s based on the February 2021 $242.50 calls. With shares right around $225, that’s a bet that the stock will gain another 7.7 percent in the next seven weeks. The option saw over 6,570 contracts trade compared to a prior open interest of 100, a 66-fold surge in volume. The trader paid about $2.67 for the option. Shares of the company rose 40 percent over ...
Read More

John Holder, a director at Genuine Parts Company (GPC), recently picked up 1,000 shares. The buy increased his holdings by nearly 8 percent, and came to a cost of $97,000. Holder also made the second most recent insider transaction with a buy back in October. Another director also picked up shares back in March. Looking to prior years, there have been a number of both insider buys and sells. Overall, insiders own just under 3 percent of shares. Shares of the automobile ...
Read More

Many investment ideas run on the idea of a reversion to the mean. That’s just a fancy way of saying that stocks that have performed well will eventually underperform the overall market. And companies that have performed poorly will start to fare better. With the turning of the calendar year, a strategy of buying underperformers is appealing, depending on the name. One such name? Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B), which has lagged the market by 44 points since early 2019. The case for outperformance ...
Read More

After a massive move higher, at least one trader is betting that video game retailer GameStop (GME) is likely to drop. That’s based on the February 2021 $21 puts. Over 8,000 contracts traded against a prior open interest of 337, making for a 23-fold rise in volume. The option expires in 52 days. The buyer paid about $4.60 for the contracts. Shares of the stock last traded at $21, making this an at-the-money trade. Shares of the company have risen 228 ...
Read More

Michael Hogan, a director at United Insurance Holdings Corp (UIHC), recently picked up 24,009 shares, which increased his stake by nearly 20 percent. The trade cost just over $123,000. That’s the second buy from that director in the past month, following a buy at the end of November. He’s also been joined by three other directors and the company’s Chief Claims officer in that timeframe. Overall, insiders own just over 53 percent of the company. The property and casualty insurance firm, ...
Read More