Trading Tips Blog

As the market began to fade on Friday, there were a coupe of large option trades on the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA: EWJ). Just as the ETF was testing its 2020 high, it appears that the options market is beginning to turn bearish through some sizable long put trades. The activity comes at a time when equity markets historically struggle and as stimulus appears to be waning before the election. EWJ broke through a resistance area near $58.80 last ...
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You wouldn’t normally think of investing in steel producing companies in a recession, but these are unusual times. Last week, It was steel producing companies and metallurgical coal companies that led the way in an otherwise disappointing week for the market. After the Federal Reserve failed to deliver the stimulus last Wednesday, it may be the likelihood of a stimulus bill that includes infrastructure or just expectations of a rebound in the economy. Either way, these were companies that led ...
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Zscaler Inc (NASDAQ: ZS) is a cloud security company that announced earnings on September 9 that comfortably beat analyst estimates but saw its share price decline on the announcement. As the price has been searching for support, a number of insider sale transactions have begun to pop up. The response to the report and the transactions occur as the company discussed scrapping their profitability goal for increased operating margins during their earnings call. Zscaler is company that is experiencing ...
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On Friday, Barclays Bank downgraded the FANG stocks and Microsoft (MSFT), to market weight. That’s a neutral rating overall, but given that the word “sell” is a dirty word on Wall Street, it’s a major shot across the bow of the major companies that have driven markets higher in the past year. The biggest insult? Barclays stated its main concern: That stock valuations are completely out of whack, and on par with a level last seen during the tech bubble. The ...
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The November $21 put options on Snapchat (SNAP) saw a massive 165-fold surge in volume, with over 30,200 contracts trading hands on Friday. The bet, expiring in 60 days, is nearly 10 percent out-of-the-money, given the recent share price of $23.82 on Friday. The trader buying the contracts paid about $1.25 per contract. For the option to profit at expiration, shares would need to slide under $20 between now and November. Shares of the social media company are up nearly 40 percent in ...
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Louis Vachon, a director at Molson Coors Beverage (TAP), recently added to his stake with a 3,000 share buy. That brings his total holdings to over 26,400 shares for a 13 percent increase. The total buy came to just over $105,000. With the stock market in selloff mode, a holding in the beverage space is a great defensive sector to be in, so it’s no surprise that directors are buying now. That said, it’s really the valuation right now that ...
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The Azek Company (NYSE: AZEK) closed its share offering on Tuesday for 25 million shares and an additional 3.75 million shares exercised by underwriters. The price of the offering was at $33.25 a share, but the proceeds go to large shareholders in the company that are looking to cash out. The breadth sellers involved, and size of the offering makes you wonder whether insiders are anticipating a lot more downside. The Azek began trading on the secondary market on June ...
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As the market weakened Fed announcement on Wednesday, the options market on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA: SPY) began to heat up on Thursday. The price of the SPY opened lower near the previous low and was able to stabilize around that level. However, as the price was stabilizing, there were some sizeable bearish option trades being made that indicate that level won’t hold. Looking back over the past couple of weeks, there has been several days where ...
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