Trading Tips Blog

For most companies, share buybacks sound attractive. They can offset shares issued to executives. And as long as the market is rising, things look good. Most companies aren’t Apple (AAPL). The consumer tech giant just beat earnings and raised its share buyback program to a staggering $90 billion. That’s on top of a dividend payout as well, increasing the amount of cash the company returns to shareholders every year. The $90 bullion share buyback is pretty close to the $89.6 billion ...
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Computing giant HP Inc (HPQ) has seen its shares move steadily higher over the past few months, with only minimal pullbacks along the way. One trader is betting the trend will continue. That’s based on the September $38 calls. Expiring in 141 days, over 3,140 contracts traded against an open interest of 141, for a 22-fold rise in volume. The buyer paid about $1.30 to get into the trade. With a current share price near $34.50, shares would need to rally ...
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Earnings season makes for some rich trades. While many traders expected shares of Microsoft (MSFT) to rally to a $2 trillion valuation after earnings, the company instead surprised with a drop instead. The company saw revenue up 19 percent compared to a year ago, its highest level. And the company beat analyst expectations. But revenues from the company’s Azure division, where it does its cloud services, seemed a little light to shareholders. The end result is that, in spite of great ...
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Karen Francis, a director at TuSimple Holdings (TSP), recently bought 7,142 shares. The buy increased her stake by nearly 9 percent, and came to a total cost of just over $285,000. The company CFO made a 2,500 share buy on the same day. A major owner sold 6.7 million shares as well, while also retaining over 24.6 million shares. These mark the first insider transactions since the company went public earlier this month. Overall, insiders own nearly 17 percent of company ...
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Shares of megabank Bank of America (BAC) have not only recovered from the drop last year, but have moved to new highs. One trader sees that trend continuing strong in the next month. That’s based on the May 28th $41 calls. Expiring in 30 days, over 12,350 contracts traded against a prior open interest of 580, for a 21-fold rise in volume. The trader paid about $0.60 to make the trade. With shares around $39.50, the option will move in-the-money on a ...
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Emily Gottschalk, a director at Anixa Biosciences (ANIX) recently bought 10,000 shares. The buy increased her stake by 64 percent, and came to a total cost of just under $45,000. Insiders, including the company directors and C-suite executives alike, have been steady buyers in the past three years, with no insider sales. Overall, company insiders own about 9 percent of company shares. Company insiders have been willing to buy shares anywhere between $2 and $5, where they’ve largely traded over the past ...
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There’s always a lot to read on a company’s earnings report. Tesla Motors (TSLA) fared well with a strong earnings and sales beat. And the company disclosed that it sold some of its Bitcoin position at a profit, making over $110 million there—or more than it’s made from selling cars in its existence. Yet even with strong earnings numbers and a solid return on cryptocurrency trading, shares sagged a bit. Looking out over the longer term, shares appear to be setting up ...
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Shares of software database company Oracle (ORCL) have recently dropped slightly from all-time highs around $80 per share. One trader sees shares rebounding in the coming months. That’s based on the December $80 calls. With 235 days until expiration, over 2,290 contracts traded, an 18-fold rise in volume from the prior open interest of 130. The buyer of the option paid about $4.00 for the contract. With shares around $75, the option would move in-the-money on less than a 10 percent ...
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