Trading Tips Blog

RA Walker, a director at ConocoPhillips (COP) recently bought 22,500 shares. The stake represents an initial buy for the director, and came to a total cost of just under $1.5 million. This marks the second insider buy since May at the company. As with many large cap companies, a number of insiders are also sellers, although the total insider activity has been rather small overall over the past two years. Overall, company insiders own just 0.1 percent of company shares. The stock ...
Read More About This

Shares of commodity producer Lithium Americas (LAC) have been somewhat rangebound over the past few months, but have started to trend higher in recent days. One trader sees that trend continuing. That’s based on the September $25 calls. With 36 days until expiration, over 15,585 contracts traded against an open interest of 290 for a 54-fold rise in volume. The buyer of the calls paid about $0.45 to make the trade. Shares have recently risen to around $18, so they’d need to ...
Read More About This

The only constant in the world is change. Companies that have been around for decades (or even over a century) need to either adapt or die. Some companies are getting the message that if they want to stay relevant tomorrow, they need to make changes today. Big tech companies have fared well in this regard, expanding into new areas and new technologies. But other large companies are making moves too. One surprising play has been Walmart (WMT). The retailer has expanded online ...
Read More About This

Joseph Nowicki, a director at Lumber Liquidators (LL), recently picked up 5,033 shares. The buy increased her stake by over 41 percent, and came to a total purchase price of just under $100,000. This follows up from a 2,500 share buy from the company CEO earlier in the month, at a total cost of $50,000. Overall, company insiders have been buyers going back to 2014. Company insiders own about 3.2 percent of shares. The home improvement retailer has seen shares declines nearly ...
Read More About This

Shares of social media giant Snap (SNAP) have been trending stronger in the past year, with a further jump after beating earnings last week. One trader sees the chance of a continued move higher in the next month. That’s based on the September 3 $82 calls. With 22 days until expiration, over 7,815 contracts traded against a prior open interest of 146, for a 53-fold jump in volume. The buyer of the calls paid about $1.57 to make the trade. The stock ...
Read More About This

With the stock market at all-time highs, investors can either jump in at high prices, look for value trades, or focus on great companies trading at reasonable prices. That last category has been strong for strategies such as dividend growth. More companies continue to raise their dividends, signaling a return to normal, or at least that a company can thrive during a pandemic. One of the latest companies to announce a dividend increase is Papa John’s International (PZZA). The pizza giant has ...
Read More About This

Bradford Whitehurst, CFO at Energy Transfer LP (ET) recently picked up 5,000 more shares. The buy increased his holdings by 0.65 percent, and came to a total purchase price of just over $46,000. This is the second insider buy of the year, following a 200,000 share buy from a director back in May. Over the past 3 years, insider buys have far exceeded sellers, even as shares have more than doubled off their pandemic lows. Overall, company insiders own over 27 ...
Read More About This

Shares of telecom giant AT&T (T) dropped from 52-week highs earlier in the year as the company announced it would sell off its media assets to refocus on being a telecom company. One trader is betting that shares will trend back up. That’s based on the December $30 calls. With 128 days until expiration, over 25,340 contracts traded against an open interest of 222 for a 114-fold jump in volume. The buyer of the calls paid about $0.38 to make the ...
Read More About This