Major owner increases stake in regional bank.On Tuesday, James Filler bought just over 2,500 shares ofCentury Bancorp (CNBKA). He already owns more than 10 percent of shares. The buy, with a total purchase price of $219,000, increases his total position to 702,919 shares, and represents a 0.36 percent increase in his total holdings. Like many other insiders in recent days, Filler sees solid opportunities in companies where he already has a large stake. Century Bancorp is a bank holding company for Century Bank and Trust Company, a provider of banking products and services. The bank offer...

Bet on moderate decline by January.Shares ofShake Shack (SHAK) have been volatile over the years. At least one trader is betting on a big move in shares again—with a decline in mind. On Tuesday, over 934 contracts traded on the January 2020 $65.00 put options. With shares trading around $74.50, that’s a bet that shares will decline over 13 percent between now and January. Shake Shack currently operates 208 restaurants which it calls Shacks. The company sells burgers, hot dogs, fries, shakes, and related products. Share trade at a whopping 158 times earnings, and a still-outrageous 100 ti...

Major fund holder bumps up stake.On Monday, the Abdiel Qualified Master Fund bought 137,515 shares ofFastly, Inc. (FSLY). With a total cost of nearly $2.8 million, this represented a 3 percent increase in the fund’s stake. The fund, already an owner of more than 10 percent of the company’s shares, has over 4.78 million shares of Fastly in its portfolio. Fastly operates an edge cloud platform for processing, securing, and serving its customer’s applications. The edge cloud is a type of Infrastructure-as-a-Service that enables developers to work, secure, and deliver applications and other ...

Multiple options trades imply shares will decline again. Multiple bets are being made that shares ofTesla Motors (TSLA) will drop again in the coming weeks. On Monday, over 10,000 contracts traded on an August $60.00 put—a 75 percent discount from where shares trade around $240. Another large trade occurred on the October $215 put, which implies a 10 percent discount between now and October. The August put, trading at $0.04, or $4 per contract, is a very cheap bet likely to expire worthless. But if Tesla shares drop quickly at some point in the next 31 days, the option could get a lar...

CEO makes million-dollar buy.On Thursday, G-III Apparel Group CEO Morris Goldfarb bought 40,000 shares of his own company. Besides increasing his total stake to over 3.9 million shares, the $26.47 price per share means he spent over $1.05 million picking up shares of the firm. This follows on a previous purchase by Goldfarb back on June 13th. Then, he picked up 40,479 shares, paying $1.02 million. G-III Apparel designs, sources, and markets apparel for men and women. It operates in wholesale and retail operations. The company manufactures under proprietary brand names and licensed names ...

Big bet auto parts supplier will decline.A sizeable bet is being made on a double-digit drop in shares ofTenneco (TEN) between now and January. On Friday, nearly 3,000 contracts traded on the $9.00 put option on the company. With shares at $9.50, the option is a bet that shares will decline. Based on the price of the option around $1.45, shares will need to trade around $7.50 by January for the option to be worth at least as much as it is today. Tenneco designs, manufactures and sells automotive parts for light vehicles and commercial trucks to customers worldwide. It makes a number of p...

Big bet retail chain will continue dropping after earnings miss. Shares of retail outletBed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) dropped by over 8 percent on Thursday, following poor earnings and poor guidance. But traders are betting on even further weakness in shares in the coming months. One option was the November $11 puts on the company, which saw over 10,000 shares trade against a prior volume of 1,100. With shares now under $10, it’s an in-the-money trade that should move penny-for-penny with a decline in shares. Bed Bath and Beyond operates a chain of retail stores and uses a business pla...

Executive Chairman makes $21.7 million buy.On Wednesday, Executive Chairman David Smith bought 395,000 shares of the company he runs,Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBGI). The total cost to buy those shares came in just over $21.7 million. It also raises his total share could to just over six million shares, representing about an 8 percent increase in his total stake. Smith is a major holder with over 10 percent of the company as well. Sinclair operates a television broadcasting company, with over 191 stations in 89 markets with 605 channels. The company is moving to increase its presence in t...

Big bet hotel chain will rally into 2020.The hospitality industry has faced some significant headwinds in recent years, but that’s not stopping one trader from betting on a rally inHost Hotels & Resorts (HST). On Wednesday, over 10,500 contracts of the January 2020 $20 calls on shares traded hands. That represents a 31-fold increase in volume on the contract. With shares around $18, the move is a bet that shares will move at least 10 percent higher by the time the option expires in mid-January. Host Hotels owns high-end luxury brands, under such names as Marriott, Hyatt, Fairmont, Ri...

Activist investor adds $2 million to existing stake. On Tuesday, activist investor Ron Perelman revealed the additional purchase of 1.2 million shares in a company he already owns more than 10 percent of,vTv Therapeutics (VTVT). Perelman now owns over 20.2 million shares of the company. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.65, but shares currently trade around $1.45, so anyone looking to piggyback on the billionaire investor can get a bargain here. The company may not be for all investors, however. With only an $80 million market cap, shares will be volatile. And vTv is...