Trading Tips Blog

Matthew Koeppen, Chief Investment Officer at Two Harbors Investment Corp (TWO), recently added 20,000 shares to his holdings. The buy came to just over $133,000. He was joined a day later by William Greenberg, the company President and CEO, who bought 35,000 more shares, at a total cost of just over $230,000. These mark the first insider buys since 2019. Prior actions over the past year have been sales. Shares of the mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT) are down nearly ...
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Markets continue to see some big moves in individual companies reporting earnings. Or, more accurately, in companies making announcements in conjunction with earnings. For instance, Walmart (WMT) reported solid earnings thanks to rising ecommerce sales, and boosted its share buyback program to $20 billion. Yet shares sold off anyway, as the firm came in light with guidance for the year ahead. It also didn’t help that the company announced a higher wage for 425,000 workers. The wage raise will increase the ...
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Edward Ludwig, a director at CVS Health Corp (CVS) recently picked up 3,000 shares. The buy increased his stake by over 13 percent, and came to a total cost of exactly $216,000. This is the first insider buy at the company since last May, when an EVP bought 5,000 shares. Overall insiders have been sellers of shares, and entirely from the C-suite of executives, rather than from company directors. Insiders own a paltry 0.17 percent of shares. The drugstore chain has ...
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Social media giant Facebook (FB) has been trading in a range between $250 and $300 over the past few months. At least one trader sees a big selloff ahead. That’s based on the September $150 put options. Expiring in 210 days, shares would need to drop 47 percent for the trade to move in-the-money. Over 12,400 contracts traded, a 43-fold rise in volume over the prior open interest of 288. The trader paid about $1.54 for the options. With shares trading in a ...
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Earnings season continues to create new trading opportunities for investors. While the explosion of e-commerce trends over the past year is likely to slow, the gains made are likely to hold. So when a company warns on guidance, any selloff can create a buying opportunity. Case in point? Shopify (SHOP). The company saw stronger-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter of 2020, yet shares sold off on lower guidance for 2021. That’s the market’s mistake. The selloff in shares creates a buying ...
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Tech giant Apple (AAPL) can’t seem to catch a break. The company hit an all-time high in September, then had a large pullback. It re-tested that high in late January and shares are pulling back yet again. But at least one trader sees shares moving higher in the near future. That’s based on the March 26th $141 calls. Over 4,075 of the contracts traded against a prior open interest of 216, a 19-fold rise in volume. The trade expires in 36 days ...
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Meryl Hartzband, a director at Everest Re Group (RE), recently picked up 1,000 shares. The buy increased the stake by nearly 30 percent, and came to a total cost of $244,000. This marks the first insider buy at the company in nearly a year. Company insiders, notably the Chairman and President, have both been sellers of shares in the past year while directors have been more likely to buy. Reinsurance companies bundle up insurance policies written by other companies and swap ...
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Gold prices have been lackluster lately, but some traders see a further potential move higher in the gold mining space. That’s based on the call option activity in Yamana Gold (AUY). The trade? The $4.50 calls expiring in March, just 30 days away. Over 3,600 contracts traded against a prior open interest of 140, for a 26-fold rise in volume. The trade is about $0.20 in-the-money already, given the current share price near $4.70. The trader paid about $0.43 for the option. Following ...
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