Trading Tips Blog

Office real estate investment trust
SL Green Realty (SLG) has seen shares slide by nearly two-thirds in the past year. One trader sees a further decline in the weeks ahead. That’s based on the May $22.50 puts. With 64 days until expiration, 9,147 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 22, for a 41-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $1.45 to make the downside bet. Shares recently went for about $28, so the stock ...
Read More About This

Market sentiment has turned on a dime, as fears about the solvency of several banks has surged. In this flight to quality, investors are moving into assets such as Treasury bonds and gold. However, some stocks could be a better option here. That’s because some companies will continue to grow their income. And that can be used to buy back shares, pay out a growing dividend, or otherwise reward those with the willingness to buy in a fearful market. One of the ...
Read More About This

Richard Dreiling, CEO at
Dollar Tree (DLTR), recently added 7,100 shares to his holdings. The buy increased his stake from just 18 shares, and came to a total cost of just over $1 million. This marks the first insider buy in nearly a year, when a director bought 425 shares at a cost of just over $66,000. Otherwise, there has been one insider sale over the past year, by the company’s chief strategy officer. Overall, insiders own 1.3 percent of the company. The ...
Read More About This

Transaction processing services company
Marqeta (MQ) has seen shares get cut in half over the past year. One trader sees further downside in the months ahead. That’s based on the June $3.50 puts. With 93 days until expiration, 67,259 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 100, for a staggering 673-fold jump in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $0.23 to make the downside bet. Shares recently went for about $4.25, so the stock would need to ...
Read More About This

Most companies tend to find that they have their best profitability in a narrow niche. But over time, competition or changing consumer tastes can eat away at that niche. Many firms have found that expanding into other roles can be a long-term winner. Big tech companies in particular have been good about expanding beyond just one piece of hardware or software, and into creating a suite of experiences that can bring back customers time and time again. One company could become the ...
Read More About This

Michael Bless, a director at
Piedmont Lithium (PLL), recently bought 1,750 shares. The buy is an initial stake for the director, and came to a total cost of $105,250. This is the first insider buy since last July, when the company CFO bought 2,700 shares, paying just over $101,000, at a price of about $37.50 for the stock. Since then, multiple insiders have been sellers of shares, including the company CEO and CFO. Overall, insiders own about 9 percent of the company. The ...
Read More About This

Money center bank
U.S. Bancorp (USB) has seen shares drop about 25 percent in the past year. One trader sees a further drop for shares in the coming months. That’s based on the June 16 $30 puts. With 94 days until expiration, 5,377 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 100, for a 54-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $0.53 to make the bearish bet. The bank recently traded for just over $37, so ...
Read More About This

There are many things that companies can control. But they can’t control how the market will react to one of their quarterly earnings reports. A company may have great earnings, but see shares sell off on a lower outlook, or because revenues are off. However, a company isn’t just one quarterly report. And a company that can continue to improve its earnings over time will see its share prices rise, even if that process takes time to play out. Database software company
Oracle ...
Read More About This