Trading Tips Blog

Flurry of options activity following bearish report. A bearish report going into potential accounting issues released on Thursday led to many unusual options trades in General Electric (GE). One notable trade was the December 2019 $5 put options. Those options saw a 47-fold increase in volume from 159 contracts to over 7,500. At a current price near $8, the options reflect a possible 37.5 percent drop in shares between now and mid-December. Many other put options on the company also saw a surge ...
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Division president and director buy shares. On Wednesday, August 14th, two insiders bought shares at beverage giant Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP). They included Brian Loucks, the President of Keurig Appliances, who picked up over 18,550 shares, paying just over $525,000 to do so. He was joined by director Robert Singer, who bought 4,000 shares, paying just over $110,000. Corporate insiders have been buyers of the stock in the past year, although a major holder, Maple Holdings, has been a net seller. Keurig Dr ...
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December call buying indicates further rally in shares. Gold mining companies have been doing well this month, as gold prices have risen along with market fears. Traders continue to bet on the space moving higher, with a big trade on Wednesday in shares of Barrick Gold (GOLD). Over 3,100 contracts on the December 2019 $23 calls on shares traded, a 16-fold increase in the prior open interest just under 200 contracts. With a current share price just over $18, the option is ...
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Owner Carl Icahn makes $30 million buy. On Tuesday, August 13th, billionaire investor Carl Icahn bought 4,572,521 more shares of a company he already owns more than 10 percent of, Conduent (CNDT). The stake, costing just under $30 million, increased the size of his holdings by about 14 percent to over 36.2 million shares. Icahn has previously bought shares in May, when he picked up over 6 million shares in three separate purchases. One director has bought this year, and no insiders have ...
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September calls bet on a rebound in shares. It’s been a tough year for Kraft-Heinz (KHC). But at least one trader is betting that the company’s post-earnings drop will see a bounce within the coming weeks. On Tuesday, over 12,600 contracts traded on a September $27.50 call option, a nine-fold surge in volume. With 37 days to go, it’s a bet that shares will rally about $1.20 from their current price of about $26.30, or about 4.6 percent. Kraft-Heinz, the branded food giant, ...
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CEO, Director pick up over $3.5 million in shares. On Monday, August 12th, CEO Lawrence Culp of General Electric (GE) picked up over 331,680 shares, paying just under $3 million to increase his stake in the company by 54 percent. On the same day, director Thomas Horton picked up over 55,200 shares, paying nearly $500,000. These buys come after the company reported solid earnings, but warned that its commitments to Boeing created some risk as the 737 Max jets remain grounded. General Electric ...
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Chief Claims Officer makes $50,000 buy. On Friday, August 9th, Scott St. John, Chief Claims Officer at United Insurance Holdings Corp (UIHC), picked up 4,258 shares of the company, a price that came out to just over $50,000. The buy more than doubled his holdings in the company to 7,712 shares. Insiders at the company have been buyers throughout August so far, including buys from three directors and the CEO. The last insider sale occurred back in March, when shares traded 25 ...
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Long-dated, out-of-money calls suggest massive move. Amid options trading on unusual activity on Monday, the $20 January 2021 call options on Pretium Resources (PVG) stood out. With shares around $13.30, the company’s shares would need to rally 50 percent before the option moved in-the-money. With 550 trading days before expiration, and with shares already up 50 percent in the past year, the trade could certainly play out handsomely for traders. Over 4,300 contracts of this option traded Monday, against a prior open interest ...
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