Trading Tips Blog

Specialty insulation producer Aspen Aerogels (ASPN) is up 27 percent over the past year, slightly beating out the overall stock market. One trader expects further outperformance in the coming half year. That’s based on the July 19th $22.50 calls. With 204 days until expiration, 7,013 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 180, for a 39-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $1.50 to make the bullish bet. Aspen shares recently traded for about ...
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As the stock market got mauled by the bear in 2022, one sector held its own: Energy. The trend has reversed in 2023, as the sector has been whipsawed by fluctuating oil prices. But there’s another twist to this trend. And understanding it will help investors navigate moves into 2024. While energy prices have been declining even as OPEC nations have cut their production, this new trend hints at the profits available now. That trend is the rise of U.S. oil ...
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Nicholas Gangestad, a director at Nucor (NUE), recently bought 1,000 shares. The buy is an initial position for the director, and came to a total cost of $176,609. This is the first insider buy since a major holder added $6.6 million worth of shares back in August. Otherwise, company executives have been moderate sellers of shares this year, including the company’s CEO and COO. Overall, Nucor insiders own 0.7 percent of shares. The steel producer is up 28 percent in the past ...
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Processed food producer Campbell Soup Company (CPB) has had a rough year, with shares down 25 percent. One trader sees further weakness into the first month of 2024. That’s based on the January 19, 2024 $41 puts. With 24 days until expiration, 3,498 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 104, for a 34-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $0.40 to make the bearish bet. Shares recently traded near $43, so they would ...
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2023 has been a great year for big-cap tech companies, particularly those investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI). That’s especially true for hardware companies that can provide the tools necessary to run today’s latest AI programs. Most of these massive companies are priced for perfection, however. Smaller companies, which haven’t had the investor interest yet, could be better players in the AI space, as they catch up to the big names that moved first on the AI news. For instance, memory chip ...
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Aj Teague, Co-CEO of Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), recently bought 2,410 shares. The buy increased his  stake by less than 1 percent, and came to a total cost of $63,076. This is the first buy at the company in just over a month, following a 10,000 share pickup from a company director, at a cost just under $260,000. Other company directors have been steady buyers over the past two years, with no insider sales. In total, EPD insiders own 32.7 percent ...
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Asia-based ecommerce platform Sea Limited (SE) has dropped 30 percent in the last year. One trader is betting on shares to start the year trending higher. That’s based on the January 19, 2024 $42.00 calls. With 25 days until expiration, 6,065 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 196, for a 31-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $1.20 to make the bullish bet. Sea Limited recently traded for about $38, so they ...
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AI has been the major market theme of 2023. It’s easy to see why. AI technologies can improve a company’s operations at a significantly low cost. For big-tech companies, small improvements can mean billions of dollars in extra revenues and profits. That’s why the trend has been great for big tech stocks. One big tech stock has already started to benefit from rolling out AI technology. That company is Salesforce (CRM), a producer of customer relationship management software that is provided to ...
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