Trading Tips Blog

Shares of stock exchange owner
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), are up about 10 percent over the past year, just slightly edging out the overall stock market. One trader is betting on a further rally into next year. That’s based on the January 2024 $180 calls. With 128 days until expiration, 2,807 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 110, for a 26-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $0.10 to make the bullish bet. Shares recently ...
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Investors don’t like uncertainty. They tend to give a company a lower valuation when its future outlook appears grim. That could occur for a variety of reasons, such as a series of poor earnings reports. Or there could be some kind of tax or legal overhang on shares. Resolving those issues could benefit shares. Besides providing an immediate boost, it could also set up a stock for a longer-term move higher. Investors who buy after the uncertainty immediately disappears can still ...
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Felicia Hendrix, CFO at
Penn Entertainment (PENN), recently bought 11,162 shares. The buy increased her stake by 66 percent, and came to a total cost of $250,140. The buy comes a few weeks after a director bought 20,000 shares in August, paying just over $453,000 to do so. Otherwise, two directors sold shares earlier in the year, with one of those sales coming from an options exercise. Overall, company insiders own 0.8 percent of shares. The casino and sports content company is down ...
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Beverage and snack food giant
PepsiCo (PEP) is slightly up over the past year, although shares have been sliding in recent sessions. One trader is betting on a continued decline in the next two months. That’s based on the November $170 puts. With 66 days until expiration, 11,152 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 309, for a 36-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $2.26 to make the bearish bet. Shares recently traded ...
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With stocks showing some seasonal weakness, investors may want to turn from volatile big-name companies near their highs. Instead, it may be time to look at stocks that are well off their highs, and could be set up for a strong year-end rally. Some companies in tech fit the bill. With the market’s interest in artificial intelligence-related stocks, the big winners could come from other tech trends that are still unfolding. For instance, this could be the first year that over ...
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Stephen Donaghy, CEO at
Universal Insurance Holdings (UVE), recently added 5,000 shares. The buy increased his stake by 1 percent, and came to a total cost of $60,350. This marks the first insider but since last October, when a director bought 3,000 shares at a price 20 percent lower than where the stock trades today. Since then, company insiders have been sellers, at prices 30 to 40 percent higher than where shares currently trade. Overall, company insiders own 10.1 percent of shares. The ...
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Texas-based utility
CenterPoint Energy (CNP) has shed 16 percent over the past year. One trader sees a further decline ahead for the stock. That’s based on the January 2024 $30 puts. With 129 days until expiration, 4,000 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 105, for a 40-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $2.41 to make the bearish bet. CenterPoint recently went for about $28, meaning the option is already about $2.00 in the ...
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Most investors playing a tech trend tend to look for the companies that most directly play to that trend. For tech stocks, that may mean owning chip companies or software companies. However, a powerful trend can impact multiple industries. And investing in industries implementing new technologies before they see a benefit can lead to great returns. The trick is to look at the adoption of these disruptive technologies when the market is still focused elsewhere. For instance, self-driving cars are still a ...
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