Cluster of insiders pick up shares.A number of insiders atIndependence Contract Drilling (ICD) have started buying shares in recent days. The buys include a 6,400 share buy from the CFO, a 20,000 share buy from a director, a 5,000 share buy from the CEO, and a 2,500 buy from the company’s head of HR. These buys follow up on another cluster of insider buys going into the prior week as well, and so far insiders have bought over $50,000 in shares this month. Full insider data shows an explosion in buying from corporate executives, with just a handful of small sales. Independence Contract...

Bet on decline in shares over next few months.Over 7,500 contracts traded on the January 2020 $26 put options onWheaton Precious Metals (WPM). Against the prior open interest of 190, it’s a 40-fold surge in volume. With shares of the stock currently trading around $26.50, the option trades close to in-the-money, and could start moving penny-for-penny with shares should they decline in the coming days. For the trader to make money on the options, which cost around $1.40, shares would need to fall to $24.60. Wheaton Precious Metals operates silver and gold ore mines, with agreements for 19...

Vice Chairman adds to holdings.Willis Lee, Vice Chairman and COO atEmmaus Life Sciences (EMMA), recently bought 7,890 shares, increasing his total stake by nearly 3 percent to 282,000 shares. The buy cost just under $21,000. This follows up on an 11,000 share buy he made last week, and the company’s Chairman and CEO has been active in the past months as well. Overall, insiders have been only buyers in the past three years, with a recent uptick in buying as shares have dropped. Emmaus Life Sciences is a biotech company engaging in the discovery, development, and commercialization of treat...

1 2 The market is undervaluing these companies following their earnings beat. Nearly 25 percent of the companies in the S&P 500 will report earnings this week. But many companies have already reported—and so far, this earnings season has been great. For all the fears of an economic slowdown, for all the fears of a trade war—most companies are just doing what they do best, offering products and services that remain in demand. It’s no surprise that most companies can beat expectations when fear has driven those expectations down. Of the companies that have already beaten earnings ...

Traders up bearish bets after subscriber miss.Put option trading in streaming giantNetflix (NFLX) saw a surge after reporting earnings Wednesday after the bell. Although the company missed on its total subscriber count for another quarter, and although the company has burned through nearly $10 billion in cash in the past few quarters, shares still managed to gain nearly 3 percent in trading, sending some traders to make bearish bets. One interesting bet is the October 25th $297.50 put. With shares just under $296, the trade is slightly in-the-money ahead of expiration next week, and shou...

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...