Traders bet on drop following big earnings beat.Shares ofMicron Technology (MU) surged over 14 percent on Wednesday thanks to a massive earnings beat. But some traders think the stock has rallied too much. On Wednesday, a large number of contracts with unusual options activity centered around put options on Micron, with many expiring on Friday, just two trading days away. One further out, the August 2nd $32 put options, has over a month to play out. This option had over 1,600 contracts on Wednesday. With shares of Micron hitting $37.50, the $32 puts imply a 15 percent pullback, essent...

Fund manager makes big buy after merger announcement in the sector. Money manager Keith Meister continues to be bullish atMGM Resorts International (MGM), the casino firm where he already owns 20 million shares and has a board seat as a director. On Tuesday, Meister picked up 380,651 additional shares, at a cost of about $10.59 million. This news comes after a big announced merger in the gaming space between Eldorado Resorts and Casears Entertainment. Typically, casinos can be a bit volatile, as many folks scale back plans to gamble during times of economic stress. And while gam...

Insiders buy millions of shares of genetic disease research firm. Insiders continue to be bullish on the pharma and biotech space at current prices. One of the latest buys is inStoke Therapeutics (STOK). RWT Investments, a partnership that already owns more than 10 percent of shares, picked up 555,556 shares last week, increasing their stake by $10 million. Then, this week, another big insider trade occurred. Director Seth Harrison bought 1,388,889 shares via his holding company, Apple Tree Partners IV. This increased his stake to 17.7 million shares and represents a $25 millio...

Airline carrier may see big drop in shares.A large bet has been made that shares ofDelta Airlines (DAL) will drop in the coming months. On Tuesday, nearly 3,000 contracts of the December 2019 $45 put options traded. With shares of the airline around $56.50, this is a bet on shares dropping by 20 percent between now and the end of the year. The airline industry has fared well lately, and oil prices have been slow to rally into their usual summer season pattern this year. The trade could be a bet on slower economic growth, which tends to impact travel and tourism more heavily than average....

Hardware and construction equipment company may be in for a big drop. A large bet has been made that shares ofFastenal (FAST) will decline 25 percent by January 2021. On Monday, over 2,000 contracts of the January 2021 $25 put options contracts had been traded, against an open interest of 142, representing a 14-fold surge in volume. This bet, with shares currently at $32.50, would need to see shares decline at least 25 percent before paying off. With Fastenal’s business in construction and manufacturing supplies and equipment, the company is a solid way to bet for global growth. T...

Another biopharma firm sees insider buying here. Insiders in the pharma and biotech space continue to be bullish near current prices at many companies. The latest insider buys in the space occurred atNGM Biopharmaceuticals (NGM). Column Group LP, already a major owner with more than a 10 percent stake, bought another 34,000 shares late last week. These buys were shown as going to director Peter Svennilson. Director David Goeddel also picked up shares late last week as well. It’s always refreshing to see large buys by insiders that already have a huge stake in a firm, rather than see...

Billionaire owner adds to beaten-down research firm. Billionaire investor Mario Gabelli bought 3,544 shares ofAssociated Capital Group (AC) on June 20th. This doubles his personal share stake, but Gabelli is also Executive Chairman and owns more of the company through his Gabelli funds. The New-York based company was founded in 1976 by Gabelli as an institutional research firm based on bottom-up research and generating market-beating returns. Shares of the firm have traded between $32 and $46 in the past year, and currently trade around $35. Although the company has had negative...

Traders bet on a gold decline.After gold hit a 5-year high, one trader is betting on a pullback. On Friday, a bearish bet was made onBarrick Gold (GOLD). On Friday, over 7,100 contracts of the November $14 put options contracts had been traded, against an open interest of 155, representing a 46-fold surge in volume. This bet, with shares currently at $15.40, would need to see shares decline at least 9 percent between now and November to move in-the-money. Gold can be a volatile asset, and gold mining stocks tend to fare even worse. Many gold mining companies saw their shares drop 80-90 p...

Traders bet on rise in social media company.A bullish bet is being made that shares ofSnapchat (SNAP) will continue to rally in the next few weeks. On Thursday, over 11,700 contracts of the July 12th $15.50 call options contracts had been traded, against an open interest of 106, representing a 110-fold surge in volume. This bet, with shares currently at $14.70, implies that shares will rally by at least 5.4 percent in the next month. Shares of the social media giant have been rallying in recent weeks along with the rest of the market. Shares hit a 52-week high of $15 per share in trading...

Shares of gaming technology company are down over 60 percent from 52-week highs. Billionaire investor Ron Perelman bought 120,000 shares ofScientific Games Corp (SGMS) on Wednesday, June 19th. The total cost came in at over $2.34 million. Perelman is already a director at the company, and also a 10 percent owner as well. The Las Vegas-based company develops technology related to the gaming industry, including physical gaming machines, video lottery systems, and related hardware and software. With data showing a slowdown in tourism to Las Vegas, and with gaming revenues down, sha...