Unusual Options Activity: Apple (AAPL)
Shares of consumer tech giant Apple (AAPL) sank 2 percent on Monday on news that hiring would slow at the company. One trader sees shares shaking off the news and moving higher in the next few weeks. That’s based on the August 26th $147 calls. With 37 days until expiration, 15,718 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 176, for an 89-fold surge in volume. The buyer of the calls paid $6.93 to make the trade. The stock recently ...
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Stick With Proven Winners as Retail Spending Slows
While the latest data shows that retail spending is up – rising 1 percent in the past month—the rate of spending has slowed. That’s an indicator that consumers will likely cut back on luxury goods, and focus more on buying basics where they can get reasonable prices. For investors, that’s potentially bad news for a number of retail stocks. However, some companies tend to fare well as they provide customers a variety of goods at inexpensive prices. With retail stocks already ...
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Insider Trading Report: Rent-A-Center Inc (RCII)
Jeffrey Brown, a director at Rent-A-Center Inc (RCII), recently added 1,223 shares to his holdings. The buy increased his stake by just over 1.6 percent, and came to a total cost of just over $25,000. The director last bought shares in April, paying about the same amount for only 962 shares. And other insiders have been active buyers in the past year as well, including a 40,000 share buy from the company CEO for just over $1 million back in March. Overall, ...
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Unusual Options Activity: EQT Corporation (EQT)
Shares of oil and gas exploration company EQT Corporation (EQT) are up 90 percent over the past year. One trader is betting that shares will rebound back to their 52-week highs in the coming months. That’s based on the December $40 calls. With 150 days until expiration, 4,632 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 101, for a 46-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $4.90 to get into the position. Shares currently trade ...
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Don’t Bet Against Today’s Tech Winners in Today’s Fearful Markets
The stock market is in a downtrend, and that will likely continue until the Federal Reserve stops its current policy of raising interest rates. This downtrend is throwing out great companies along with weaker ones, and has hit the tech space fairly hard. That’s creating one of the best buying opportunities for investors in tech in years. That’s especially true with companies that can still deliver on growth in a slowing economy. Case in point is wireless semiconductor chip company Qualcomm (QCOM) ...
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Insider Trading Report: Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (PLAY)
Christopher Morris, CEO at Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (PLAY), recently bought 33,400 shares. The buy increased his holdings by nearly 226 percent, and came to a total price of just over $1.02 million. Company insiders have a mixed history with shares over the past year, with a number of executive buys of shares. However, some non-C-suite executives have been sellers of shares in the past year. Over the past three years, company insiders have mostly been sellers. Overall, company insiders own ...
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Unusual Options Activity: Annaly Capital Management (NLY)
Shares of mortgage REIT Annaly Capital Management (NLY) have slid 27 percent in the past year, as interest rates have started to rise and the housing market has started to slow. One trader sees the possibility for a further drop. That’s based on the September $5 puts. With 60 days until expiration, 21,750 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 378, for a 58-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $0.10 to make ...
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Consumer Brands Have Pricing Power Here—Making for Inflation-Beating Investments Now
Rising inflation has brought down stock values as uncertainty has increased. But a number of companies are able to raise prices and pass on the costs of inflation to their customers. That makes these companies able to maintain or even grow their profit margins during multi-decade high inflation. Once markets stop their current downtrend, these companies could continue to pay off and reward investors in the future. Consumer goods companies are best positioned for this trend. In this space, one leader is ...
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