Unusual Options Activity: Square (SQ)
Traders bet earnings drop will be short-lived. On Friday, traders bet on a higher price for payment company Square (SQ), following a drop on lower than expected earnings. A number of different options traded on unusually high volume, most expecting a bounce within the next week. One big trade was on the August 9th $70 calls, which saw over 3,200 contracts trade against an open interest of 129, for a 25-fold increase in volume. With shares of Square dropping from $80 to under $70 ...
Read More
Read More
Insider Activity: MasterCard (MA)
First insider buy at company in 2019. On Thursday, August 1st, director Lance Uggla bought 1,500 shares of payment processing company MasterCard (MA). The total cost came to $413,000, and increases his total stake to just under 4,700 shares. This marks the first insider buy at the company for 2019, amidst a number of insider sales, most from the Mastercard Foundation, a non-management insider dedicated to charitable works. MasterCard provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services globally. This includes payment transactions, ...
Read More
Read More
Unusual Options Activity: Pan American Silver (PAAS)
Big bet on a silver rally through September. On Thursday, traders bet on a higher price for the silver space thanks to a large options bet on Pan American Silver (PAAS). The September $18 call options saw over 26,700 shares trade, a 151-fold explosion in volume higher. With shares of the stock around $15.75, shares would need to move 14 percent higher in the next 49 days to move in-the-money. Pan American Silver is a mining company with a focus on silver operations ...
Read More
Read More
Insider Activity: Watford Holdings (WTRE)
Multiple insiders pick up reinsurer’s shares. On Wednesday, July 31st, multiple insiders bought shares at Watford Holdings (WTRE). Those buys included 25,000 shares by CEO John Rathgeber, 25,000 shares by director Nicolas Papadopoulo, 2,500 shares by CFO Alexandre Scherer, and 1,500 shares by Chief Risk Officer Jon Levy. Collectively, these insiders bought over $1 million in shares. Insiders have been buyers of the company earlier in the year, with a large cluster of buys back in May at far higher prices. Watford Holdings ...
Read More
Read More
Insider Activity: CARBO Ceramics (CRR)
President & CEO buys 50,000 shares. On Tuesday, July 30th, Gary Kolstad, President and CEO of CARBO Ceramics (CRR) bought 50,000 shares of his company, paying $53,000. This increased his stake by over 10 percent, bringing his total share ownership in the company to over 512,000 shares. This is the first insider buy at CARBO this year, but Kolstad has been a buyer multiple times in 2018 at far higher prices. CARBO Ceramics is a technology company that provides products and services to ...
Read More
Read More
Unusual Options Activity: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Big bet on continued decline through September. On Wednesday, shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dropped following decent, but lackluster earnings. Some traders saw further weakness, as evidenced by a number of bearish options trades following the earnings report. One particularly active option was the September 20th $26.00 put options, expiring about 50 days away. The option saw over 3,100 contracts trade against a prior interest of 174, for a nearly 18-fold increase in volume. With AMD shares knocked down to $31.15 in ...
Read More
Read More
Unusual Options Activity: Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc (BBBY)
Big bet on share decline by September. On Tuesday, an unusual number of the September 2019 $8 puts on Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) traded. Over 10,100 contracts traded against a prior open interest of 443, a 23-fold surge in volume. With shares currently trading around $9.30, the $8 strike price is a bet that shares will drop at least 14 percent in the next 51 days before expiration. Shares of the company next report earnings in late September, but shares have ...
Read More
Read More
Insider Activity: Central Pacific Financial Corp (CPF)
Chairman and President make buys. On Monday July 29th, Paul Yonamine, Chairman and CEO of Central Pacific Financial Corp (CPF) bought over 8.600 shares of the company, paying just over $255,000 to do so. He was joined by President Catherine Ngo, who bought 8,550 shares, paying just over $253,500. These buys follow off of some buys by directors back in mid-June. Central Pacific Financial Corp is based on Honolulu, Hawaii, and operates a traditional bank with 35 branches and 78 ATMs in the ...
Read More
Read More