Trading Tips Blog

Regional bank
PacWest Bancorp (PACW) was hit hard in March’s banking crisis. Shares are now down 67 percent over the past year. But one trader sees a long-term rebound ahead. That’s based on the January 2025 $10 calls. With 626 days until expiration, 5,135 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 100, for a 51-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $4.05 to make the bullish bet. Shares recently traded slightly over $10, making this ...
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Analysts spent the first few months of 2023 warning about an earnings recession. And so far, the data suggests that it’s here. Companies are slowing down overall. The good news? Analysts may have been too dour, so many companies have beaten the low expectations going into their earnings report. Nevertheless, the next few months may see the market trade sideways and see a selloff as this latest earnings season starts to slow down. Investors can use such a pullback to buy industry ...
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Thurman Rodgers, a director at
Enphase Energy (ENPH), recently bought 27,900 shares. The buy increased his holdings by 2 percent, and came to a total cost just over $4.56 million. The buy came right after the director bought 32,900 shares, paying $5.41 million, to increase his holdings by 3 percent. They’re the first insider buys at the company in over two years, as insiders have exclusively been sellers until these buys. Overall, insiders at the solar panel development company own 2.5 percent ...
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Ride share company
Uber (UBER) is down about 5 percent over the past year. One trader sees a further move higher for shares in the coming months. That’s based on the August $42.50 calls. With 108 days until expiration, 3,540 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 108, for a 32-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $0.28 to make the bullish bet. Shares recently went for about $30, so they’d need to rise about ...
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Many technologies and economies function best due to a network effect. The larger the number of users in a network, the stronger and more robust it is. It’s less likely to have a single point of failure. For investors, finding companies with a strong network effect can earn great returns. Especially when investors take advantage of a weak market to buy companies with a strong network. One type of network is in shipping and logistics. A small company may only be able ...
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Victor Alexander, Head of Consumer Bank at
KeyCorp (KEY), recently bought 8,500 shares. The buy increased his holdings by 7 percent, and came to a total cost just over $100,555. This marks the second insider buy of the year, following the 2,000 share buy from a director back in March. Going further bank, insiders have largely been steady sellers of KeyCorp shares, with a mix of direct sales and stock option exercises. Overall, insiders own 0.3 percent of the regional bank. Shares have ...
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Investment brokerage firm
The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW) has lost about a quarter of its value in the past year, as slowing trading has reduced revenues. One trader sees the potential for a further decline in shares in the weeks ahead. That’s based on the June 2 $40 puts. With 35 days until expiration, 12,066 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 216, for a 56-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $0.32. Shares recently ...
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As an investment, companies with few competitors are better than companies with many competitors. That’s because competition tends to keep prices low and innovation high. That’s good for consumers, but not healthy for companies – or their shareholders. That’s why companies with a handful of competitors tend to be more consistently profitable. That can keep share prices generally rising over time, and with lower volatility. These companies also tend to make for attractive income plays. When it comes to the oligopoly space, ...
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