Trading Tips Blog

Chief Claims Officer makes $50,000 buy. On Friday, August 9th, Scott St. John, Chief Claims Officer at United Insurance Holdings Corp (UIHC), picked up 4,258 shares of the company, a price that came out to just over $50,000. The buy more than doubled his holdings in the company to 7,712 shares. Insiders at the company have been buyers throughout August so far, including buys from three directors and the CEO. The last insider sale occurred back in March, when shares traded 25 ...
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Long-dated, out-of-money calls suggest massive move. Amid options trading on unusual activity on Monday, the $20 January 2021 call options on Pretium Resources (PVG) stood out. With shares around $13.30, the company’s shares would need to rally 50 percent before the option moved in-the-money. With 550 trading days before expiration, and with shares already up 50 percent in the past year, the trade could certainly play out handsomely for traders. Over 4,300 contracts of this option traded Monday, against a prior open interest ...
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Director makes $2 million buy. On Thursday, August 8th, Mellody Hobson, a director at JPMorgan Chase (JPM), bought 18,200 shares, increasing her stake to just over 101,300 shares. The total cost of this latest buy came in at just over $2 million. Hobson has been a repeat buyer of shares this year, buying 19,700 shares back in April. Many insiders at the big bank have been sellers of shares this year, although at higher prices than where shares currently trade. JPMorgan Chase is ...
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Surge of in-the-money call buying. The highest-volume option trade on Friday occurred in an unusual trade based on shares of General Electric (GE). The January 2020 $6 call options saw a surge in volume. With shares over $9, these options are about 50 percent in-the-money. If GE shares rally, the option should move higher penny-for-penny. If shares drop, they could still have some value at expiration. With the number of unusual options usually focusing on short-term or near-the-money trades, this one stands out ...
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There are a lot of ways to make money in the market. But even if you find that rare company that can move ten-fold and provide one of the best profits of your lifetime, that will take time.Most investors get impatient. Trading Tips’ Andrew Packer explains why you should be looking at blue-chip bargains ...
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CEO, Directors, continue to pick up shares. On Wednesday, August 7th, Encana (ECA) CEO Douglas Suttles picked up another 6,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company. The $24,000 he spent raised his total stake to over 200,000 shares. This isn’t his first buy this month. He also bought 10,000 shares on August 6th, paying nearly $42,000 as well. And he isn’t alone, as multiple directors have been buyers since the start of the month. Director Fred Fowler picked up 25,000 shares—paying ...
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Bet on shares collapsing by late October. Shares of Apple (AAPL) could fall by nearly 50 percent in the next 70 days—at least, if the surge in October $105 put options on Thursday is any indication. With shares around $202, the $105 strike price is essentially a bet that shares will drop in half. With over 2,800 of these contracts trading against an open interest of 190, that’s a 15-fold surge in volume on this deeply bearish trade. These options cost the buyer ...
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CFO makes six-figure buy. On Tuesday, August 6th, Ray Young, CFO at Archer-Daniels Midland (ADM), picked up 3,400 shares. His total cost came to just under $125,000. The buy increases his holdings at the company to over 353,000 shares. As the head of finance at a company, a CFO buy is a strong buy signal for investors, as the company may have more room to run ahead, or is otherwise undervalued on a fundamental basis. Trading at 16 times earnings and 11 times ...
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