Trading Tips Blog

The past few months have shown a big slowdown in inflation. It’s also shown that consumers are willing to ditch their favorite brands to find less expensive substitutes. However, that trend likely won’t last forever. As prices in general rise, even substitute brands may not entice consumers as they once did. That could bode well for companies that have a strong basket of brands, even if their profitability has been hit in the short-term. For instance, Kraft Heinz (KHC) reported a ...
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Thomas Smach, a director at Crocs (CROX), recently added 1,435 shares. The buy increased his holdings by 1 percent, and came to a total cost of $150,001. The director was the last buyer of shares with a 3,000 share pickup in March at a slightly higher price. Since then, company insiders, including the Crocs’ CEO and the company president, have sold off shares, albeit at higher prices. Overall, insiders own 2.7 percent of the company. The specialty footwear manufacturer is up sizeably ...
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Coal producer Peabody Energy Corporation (BTU) has traded in a narrow range over the past year. While shares hit a low in May and have trended higher, one trader sees shares declining going into next year. That’s based on the January 2024 $16 puts. With 168 days until expiration, 14,242 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 122, for a massive 117-fold increase in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $0.59. Shares recently traded just under ...
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Many sectors condense over time into just a few players. An oligopoly can be great for investors, as companies tend to look for ways to improve their profitability, rather than spend considerable money on expansion once there’s a small and stable number of players in the market. That can lead to good investment returns. The returns can improve when investors buy during short-term market fears. That includes the opportunities hitting one company harder during earnings season compared to others. For instance, JetBlue ...
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Mark Sheahan, President and CEO at Graco (GGG), recently added 1,263 shares. The buy increased his holdings by 2 percent, and came to a total cost of $99,828. This marks the first insider buy at the company in the past two years. Graco has had about two dozen insider sales in that timeframe, all following the exercise of company stock options. The sales have mostly been near where shares current trade, or at higher prices. Overall, company insiders own 0.8 percent ...
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Mortgage REIT AGNC Investment Corp (AGNC) has dropped slightly so far this year, as interest rates continue to rise. One trader expects shares to decline even further into next year. That’s based on the March 2024 $9 puts. With 225 days until expiration, 22,050 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 232, for a 95-fold jump in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $0.54 to make the bearish bet. Shares recently traded at $10, so ...
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So far, this year has been kind to semiconductor companies. That’s because most of them can benefit from the exploding interest in AI technology. However, the hardware companies may have run up a bit too quickly. The software companies behind AI likely have more room to run. There’s a good amount of competition, both in AI prompts, and for developing AI software tools that can combine and leverage the power of multiple pieces of AI software. One big cap winner in the ...
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Scott Watson, CIO at Northwest Bancshares (NWBI), recently bought 5,000 shares. The buy increased his stake by 20 percent, and came to a total cost just over $61,000. This marks the first buy since a company director bought 1,675 shares back in June. And a cluster of directors bought back in May, and the company CEO picked up shares in late April. A few EVPs have been sellers of shares in small amounts in the past few months. Overall, company insiders ...
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