Trading Tips Blog

CEO makes $4.5 million buy. On Friday July 26th, Air Products & Chemicals (APD) CEO Seifi Ghasemi picked up 20,000 shares of the company. At $227 per share, the total cost came to a whopping $4.5 million bet on the company. The new buy brings his total share count to nearly 454,000 shares. This marks the first insider buy at the company for 2019, and only one insider has sold shares at the industrial giant this year. Air Products & Chemicals provides atmospheric ...
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Big bet on shares rallying through January. On Monday, a bullish bet was made on Anheuser-Busch Inbev (BUD), maker of Budweiser and other beverages and spirits. The bet was on the January 2020 $90 call options on the stock, expiring 171 days from now. Over 15,000 of these contracts traded, against an open interest of 1,233, making for a 12-fold surge in volume on the option. Even more unusual is the fact that shares currently trade around $101, making the option about $11 ...
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Director makes $50,000 buy. Last week, Richard Fredericks bought 3,105 shares of Cadence Bancorp (CADE), increasing his stake by 3 percent. He paid nearly $50,000. This brings his total stake in the company to nearly 108,000 shares. Other directors have been buyers, largely back in May. Insiders have been sellers of shares at prices at least 20-25 percent higher than where they currently trade. Cadence is a Houston-based bank that operates 66 offices in Texas, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia. The bank ...
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Big bet on shares declining in the next month. On Friday, a bearish bet on Caterpillar (CAT)led the options market for the size of unusual activity. Over 7,700 contracts traded on the August $128 put options, against an open interest of 123. That is a 62-fold surge in volume. With the share price around $134, shares will need to fall at least 4.5 percent for the option to trade in-the-money before the option expires on August 16th. Caterpillar is a global leader in ...
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Big bet on shares rallying through October. On Thursday, a large bet was made on shares of Targa Resources Group (TRGP) continuing its recent rally higher. Over 5,250 of the October $43 call options traded hands, against an open interest of 242—making for a 21-fold increase in volume. With a current share price around $40.50, this is a bet that shares will move at least 6 percent higher in the next 84 days. Targa is a storage and transport company for natural gas ...
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  Major holder adds to truck transportation company. On Thursday, Elliott International, LP, bought 1,866 shares of Roadrunner Transportation Systems (RRTS). While the total cost was under $20,000, Elliott already owns over 23,148,000 shares of the company— making them a major shareholder. The recent buy increases their holdings by 0.01 percent, the fund has been a repeat buyer of shares near current prices in prior months in the 1,500-8,000 share range. Roadrunner operates asset-light transportation and logistics services, primarily in the United States and ...
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Director adds to stake of regional bank. On Tuesday, director Karl Silberstein picked up 4,000 shares of Bank of Commerce Holdings (BOCH). The buy increases his stake to 30,295 shares, and came at a total cost of $42,400. Over the past two years, insiders at Bank of Commerce Holdings have been buyers, with no sales. Insiders own nearly 6 percent of outstanding shares.   Bank of Commerce Holdings is the holding company for Redding Bank of Commerce in Northern California. The bank is largely ...
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Big bet on decline following earnings surge. Shares of Snapchat (SNAP) may have rallied on Wednesday following their strong quarter, but most traders were betting the rally in shares would be short-lived. On Wednesday, a number of put options on the company saw an explosion in volume, suggesting shares would come down in the coming days—possibly as soon as Friday. The most interesting of these options? The August 16th $17 puts. With shares of Snapchat hitting $17 in trading on Wednesday, the option ...
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