Trading Tips Blog

One of the biggest trends in the past few years has been in the payment space. A number of companies are offering alternative ways to clear payments that bypass the existing credit card system or the banking system as well. Naturally, big banks have noticed, and are starting to get into the trend themselves. JPMorgan Chase (JPM), for example, just launched QuickAccept. The new service offers a mobile app and contactless card reader. The move is a shot across the bow ...
Read More

Michael Barns, Executive Chairman and a major holder at Tiptree (TIPT), recently added 6,104 shares to his holdings. The buy came to just under $32,000. He followed up with a buy on Tuesday of 4,954 shares. Barnes has been a regular buyer of shares over the past few weeks, and his holdings have crept up from 8.55 million shares to over 8.60 million. The buys have occurred as shares have slid nearly 30 percent in the past year for the specialty insurance ...
Read More

Although shares of Sibanye Stillwater (SBSW) are at a 52-week high, one trader sees shares moving even higher. The April 2021 $15 calls on the company saw a 20-fold rise in volume. Over 2,580 contracts traded hands against a prior open interest of 127. The bet, expiring in 176 days, is that the precious metals mining company will rise another $1.50 from its current price near $13.50. The calls will move in-the-money on a further 11 percent move in shares. The buyer ...
Read More

Shares of Swiss bank UBS Group AG (UBS) had a decent day on Tuesday, as the bank reported its strongest third-quarter earnings in a decade. Traders see more upside ahead. That’s shown by the 16-fold rise in volume on the August 2021 $12.50 calls. The options saw over 1,650 contracts trade against a prior interest of 101. The option is at-the-money, meaning the trade should rise dollar for dollar with any move higher in the bank’s stock. The option expires in 303 ...
Read More

There’s an entertainment sector that was bigger than the movie box office before the pandemic. That industry? Video games. Over the years, the space has grown to include a number of publishers and sales in the billions. And it’s a trend likely to continue. This sector was just upgraded by MKM Partners, who sees further gains in the space as next-generation consoles start to hit the markets. The biggest players in the space are Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Electronic Arts (EA) and Take-Two ...
Read More

Richard Glasier, a director at Carnival Corp (CCL), recently picked up 10,000 shares. The purchase came to just over $140,000, and increased the director’s stake by 23 percent. This marks the second insider buy of 2020, following a 1.25 million share buy from another director back in early April. Insiders were last sellers in 2019, at prices 70-75 percent higher than where shares currently trade. Shares of the cruise line company have doubled off their March lows. They are still down ...
Read More

Lew Jacobs, a director at Citigroup (C), recently added 10,000 shares. The buy came to just over $440,000, and increased the director’s stake by 77 percent. He now owns over 22,900 shares. The trade marks the first move by insiders since August 2019. Insiders have mostly been sellers in the past two years, but have been inactive for a prolonged time. The last sales were at prices 30-37 percent higher than where shares currently trade. The big banks have had to ...
Read More

Banks are an out of favor part of the market right now. With interest rates back at zero, the profits from lending are lower as well. And while some big banks have reported solid earnings thanks to trading and investment banking, that can be an inconsistent source of revenue. Nevertheless, one fund that describes itself as contrarian recently added shares of a big bank to their holdings, after taking profits in gold mining companies. The bank? Wells Fargo (WFC). The contrarian fund ...
Read More