Huge bet on monster rally in shares.The June 2020 $57.50 call options onMorgan Stanley (MS) saw a 145-fold explosion in trading volume, from 203 open contracts to over 29,550. With 246 days until expiration, and with shares around $43, shares would need to rally nearly 34 percent for these options to move in-the-money by expiration. At a price of just $0.23, or $23 per contract, it’s an inexpensive bet on the financial giant moving higher, even if shares don’t rally to the strike price. With shares of the company trading under 10 times earnings, and with bank earnings so far looking grea...

Chief Investment Officer buys $4.6 million in shares so far this month.Andrew Feldstein, Chief Investment Officer atAssured Guarantee Limited (AGO), has been buying shares this month in four separate transactions. Each has been for at least 23,000 shares, and in total he has bought 105,700 shares so far this month. The total cost for each transaction has exceeded $1 million, and he has spent over $4.6 million total so far. Other insiders have largely been sellers this year, but in far smaller share amounts. Assured Guaranty offers credit protection and financial guaranty insurance global...

Major fund holder continues to add to stake.iStar Inc. continues to add to its stake inSafehold (SAFE). The fund recently picked up 22,361 shares, shelling out $771,000 and increasing its total stake to 27.2 million shares. That’s the fund’s fourth buy month-to-date, which includes a total of more than 52,000 shares then as well. All told, the fund has been a steep buyer at prices as much as 21 percent higher in the past few months. Safehold specializes in ground leases to help property owners unlock higher values from their real estate holdings with less risk. The company is structured ...

June 2020 put buying indicates potential drop expected.The June 2020 $32.50 put options onAltria Group (MO) saw over 4,000 contracts trade against a prior open interest of 400, making for a 10-fold surge in volume. With shares of the company at $43, shares will need to drop 25 percent in the next 247 days for this option to move in-the-money. With a cost of $1.04, or $104 per contract, the put buyer would need shares to drop to $31.50 before making a profit at expiration. Shares of Altria Group have been out of favor this year, sinking from a high of $66, as tobacco stocks have stumbled ...

Casino operator picks up a bull. The March 2020 $110 call options onWynn Resorts (WYNN) saw over 2,050 contracts trade against a prior open interest of 231, about a 10-fold surge in volume. The bet, which expires in 158 days, is about $1.30 in the money, given the recent share price of $111.30. It should therefore move dollar-for-dollar with shares higher, and could double if shares get to $125.00. If shares get back to their old high of $150, the option would be worth $40, a 220 percent return from the $12.50 option price. Casino operators have been a popular place to trade this y...

Director ups stake by 11 percent.Fred Clark, a director atNational Security Group (NSEC), picked up 9,813 shares recently, increasing his stake by 11 percent and leaving him with 98,723 shares. The buy cost just over $118,000. Insiders have been buyers at the company in the past year, with the last insider sale occurring in 2018. Overall, insiders own 52 percent of outstanding shares, a huge sign that management is aligned with shareholders for growing long-term value. National Security Group is an Alabama-based property & casualty insurance company offering services across the south...

Call option buys indicate higher move ahead.A number of options plays onAnalog Devices (ADI) occurred with unusual volume. The November 15th 2019 $115 calls saw over 4,500 contracts trade, a 40-fold surge in volume from the prior open interest of 113. With shares just under $113, shares need to move about $2 higher, or 1.8 percent, in the next 38 days for these options to move in-the-money. The expiration is right before the company next announces earnings in late November. The semiconductor company creates a variety of integrated circuits, algorithms, software, and subsystems for variou...

Chief quality officer makes $71,000 buy and fund adds 1.5 million shares.Bryan Ball, Chief Quality Officer atImmunomedics (IMMU), bought 5,000 shares, paying around $71,000 to do so. This doubles his stake, following a similarly-sized buy back in June. Besides insider buying by officers, a number of funds have been accumulating shares as well, including a 1.5 million share buy by Avoro Capital Advisors in early October. The fund now owns over 21 million shares, or about 11 percent of the total shares outstanding. Immunomedics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing antib...

60-fold surge in call-buying volume.With 8,900 contracts trading on the November 1st $29 call options onMGM Resorts International (MGM) saw a 60-fold surge in volume from its prior open interest of 150 contracts. With 25 days left to go, and with shares just over $27, the option trade will expire worthless unless shares rise to at least $29, or 7.4 percent. With the company reporting earnings the last week of October, shares could have a big enough bounce to move in-the-money. Casino plays have been a popular place for traders this year, as well as from corporate insiders, including prio...

Put buying suggests drop ahead.Over 2,600 contracts traded on the January $120 put options onThe Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC), up from a volume of 100. That’s a 27-fold increase in volume, a very unusual move in a name that typically has little options activity. With shares at $126, shares need to drop nearly 5 percent for this option to move in-the-money. With 105 trading days to go, it’s a bet that could play out. The company, an owner, manager, and developer of various properties throughout the United States, seems like an unlikely candidate for a bearish trade. However, shares tra...