Trading Tips Blog

The stock market is having a strong year, with the S&P 500 up over 20%, well above its long-term average. But other assets have fared even better. Gold is up nearly 25%, and bitcoin is up over 40%. Investors continue to move into these trades on skepticism about the market rally lasting. It’s possible that lower interest rates could fuel inflation again, which could send these assets even higher. With that potential scenario in mind, investors may want to continue to ...
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Gary Kelly, the Chairman of the Board at Southwest Airlines (LUV), recently bought 33,921 shares. The buy increased his stake by 4%, and came to a total cost of $1 million. He was handily outdone by director Rakesh Gangwal, who bought 3,600,000 shares across a few transactions for a total cost of $106.7 million. These transactions mark the first insider buys at the airliner over the past two years. The last insider sale occurred in May 2023. Overall, Southwest Airlines insiders ...
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Financial service provider Discover Financial Services (DFS) is up 61% over the past year. One trader sees shares pulling back over the coming weeks. That’s based on the December 20 $120 puts. With 72 days until expiration, 4,349 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 119, for a 37-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $2.85 to make the bearish bet. Discover Financial Services last traded for about $145, so shares would need to ...
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Oil prices have been perking up over the past few days, after briefly trading under $70 per barrel. Part of the move is because of the potential for escalating violence in the Middle East, particularly between Iran and Israel. However, there’s likely more upside ahead for oil. Overall production has been held lower by OPEC in recent years, and demand remains high. As with many other commodities, oil looks like a relative bargain in the markets today. That could bode well for ...
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Nicholas Schorsch, a major holder at Global Net Lease (GNL), recently bought 100,000 shares. The buy increased his position by less than 1%, and came to a total cost of $840,000. This marks the first insider buy at the company over the past two years. Schorsch has been the only seller of shares over the past two years, with about half the sales coming at a lower share price than his most recent buy. Overall, Global Net Lease insiders own 13.3% ...
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Copper producer Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) is up 44% in the past year, beating the overall S&P 500 by about 10 points. However, one trader is betting on shares pulling back over the coming weeks. That’s based on the December 20 $40 puts. With 74 days until expiration, 6,566 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 147, for a 45-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $0.47 to make the bearish bet. FCX shares recently traded ...
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While the overall stock market tends to trend higher over time, individual sectors within the market tend to take the lead. At the tail end of the 2022 bear market, tech companies kicked off the rally as AI became a bullish theme. Since then, the market has rushed higher. Other sectors have started to show some signs of life in recent months. That trend will likely continue now that interest rates are coming down. Lower interest rates make it easier for companies ...
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Kevin Vann, CFO of Helmerich & Payne (HP), recently bought 3,300 shares. The buy came to a total cost of $99,627, and is a new position for the CFO. The buy is also the first insider purchase over the past two years. Insiders have been periodic sellers of shares over the last 24 months, with the most recent sale coming from the company’s prior CFO. The company President and CEO was also a seller of shares in late 2022. Overall, Helmerich ...
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