Big bearish bet on tech giant in the next month.Shares ofApple (AAPL) sold off Monday on a major downgrade, citing the company’s “fundamental deterioration.” Naturally, some traders saw that as an opportunity to sell shares—at least in the short-term. That explains the 100-fold increase in volume on the August 2nd $185 puts on the company. With shares of Apple trading just under $200, this is a bet on about a 7.5 percent decline between now and expiration in 25 days. Apple is a widely held company, due to its size and success. And while the company has pushed to improve its suite of high...

Big bet on social media company rallying in the next month. Shares of social media companies have underperformed the broad market. Between a slowdown in user growth and privacy concerns, they don’t look like the most attractive investment. Yet shares of these companies are off their recent lows—and at least one trader is betting on a big move higher. Last Friday saw a surge in volume on the July 26th $19 call options onSnapchat (SNAP). With shares trading around $15, that’s a bet on shares rallying another $4 from here, or about another 26 percent. That’s a large percentage move, b...

Major holder adds to stake in blood testing company. Insiders in the health, pharmaceutical, and biotech space continue to buy shares of their beaten-down companies near today’s prices. The latest big buy? At shares of one of the smaller diagnostic plays,OncoCyte Corporation (OCX). Last week, Broadwood Partners LP, which already owns more than 10 percent of shares in the company, added 1 million shares to their stake. At a price of around $2, this represented a $2 million buy. Founded in 2009, OncoCyte works on the development and commercialization of non-invasive, blood-based diag...

Big bet on gold mining company shares moving higher this year. Shares of mining companies can be pretty volatile. If gold prices stop moving higher, the share price on these companies can drop quickly. Yet at least one trader is betting that mining giantAngloGold Ashanti (AU) will trade at least as high as it’s been if not higher by the end of January 2020. On July 3rd, there was a surge in trading on theJanuary 2020 $18 calls. Shares last traded around $17.80, making this option at-the-money. In other words, in a volatile sector of the market, one trader is betting that shares wil...

Major holder adds to stake in beaten-down biotech company. Insiders in the health, pharmaceutical, and biotech space continue to buy shares of their beaten-down companies near today’s prices. The latest big buy? At shares of one of the smaller biotech plays,Dova Pharmaceuticals (DOVA). On July 3rd, the Perceptive Life Sciences Master Fund, which already owns more than 10 percent of shares and has a seat on the board of directors, added to their stake. The fund bought 20,541 shares, paying just under $300,000. But this isn’t their first buy with this company. They also bought shares...

Big put option bet indicates decline in shares ahead. Shares ofGeneral Electric (GE) could be moving down over the summer. That’s based on an unusual bet: a surge in trading on the September $12 put options. Why is this unusual? Because shares are at $10.63, making the trade already in-the-money. There are a few reasons for this kind of trade. First, being in-the-money, the option should move down penny-for-penny with shares. However, if shares remain under $12 come September, the trader will be on the hook to sell shares at $12. That could be a sign of a hedge trade, either ...

First insider buy at the grocery chain in two years. With so much conflicting economic data, investors may be looking for defensive investments. Corporate insider buying in the space is rare, which makes the recent insider buy at grocery chainThe Kroger Co. (KR) so interesting. On July 2nd, director Ronald Sargent bought 5,000 shares, shelling out about $108,000 to add to his stake in the company. All told, he now owns just under 95,000 shares. This is the first insider buy in shares since July 2017. Based out of Cincinnati, Kroger operates over 2,700 grocery stores and over 1,5...

Big bet on natural gas producer during summer slump. Shares ofChesapeake Energy (CHK) could move up to 34 percent higher between now and November. That’s based on a surge in volume on the November $2.50 calls, and a current price around $1.86. On Tuesday, over 160,000 of these options traded, a 58-fold surge in volume. That’s a relatively quick amount of time for such a move, but it’s not unheard of in the commodity space. Plus, by November, a colder-than-expected winter could move natural gas prices higher, which would also benefit CHK shares.Action to take: With the option ...

Insiders have never sold shares in the past three years. While names related to transportation and trade haven’t looked attractive in the midst of slowing global trade and tariff fears, insiders see an opportunity inPitney Bowes (PBI). On June 30th, Executive Vice President Jason Dies bought 1,500 shares, increasing his stake in the company by 25 percent. Insiders have been net buyers, with no insider sales at the company, for nearly three years. Pitney Bowes provides mail and shipping fulfillment products and services, including sortation services for companies that need to qua...