Trading Tips Blog

Surge in calls expiring Friday. The November 8th $52 call options on Micron (MU) saw over 2,700 contracts trade against a prior open interest of 256, an 11-fold surge in volume. Given that the option expires on Friday, and with Micron shares around $49.50, shares of the company would need to rally another $2.50 for the option to close in-the-money. As market sentiment has improved on trade issues, tech companies like Micron could move that much higher this week. Action to take: Micron ...
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In-the-money puts suggests bearish move ahead. The April 2020 $17 put options on Hanesbrands (HBI) saw over 13,700 contracts trade, a 68-fold surge in volume. Oddly, with shares of the company already at $15.50, the option is already about $1.50 in-the-money, and should move dollar-for-dollar with shares lower from here. At a price of $2.70, the put buyer really paid just $1.20 in premium, and shares would need to only slip to $14 for the put buyer to make money by April. Hanesbrands ...
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Multiple insiders buy after earnings. A number of insiders at Diebold Nixdorf (DBD) bought shares following earnings. The buys included multiple directors, a Senior Vice President of Services, and a 28,000 share buy from the President and CEO. The CEO’s buy came to nearly $195,000, and most directors picked up around $50,000 in shares. The SVP bought nearly $7,000 in shares. Insider data shows a number of insider buys this year, with only one sale. Diebold Nixdorf provides commerce solutions for financial ...
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At-the-money put buying suggests drop Over 6,050 contracts traded on the November 15th, 2019 $30.50 put option on JD.com (JD). That’s a 17-fold surge in volume against the prior open interest of 354 contracts. The option has 14 days left before expiration, and shares of JD are at $31.24, so they’d still need to drop for the option to close in-the-money. Adding in the $0.80 option premium, and traders are betting on a drop under $30. The Chinese e-commerce giant often has some ...
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Director and major holder ups stake. Peter Kamin, a director and major holder with over 10 percent of shares in Tile Shop Holdings (TTS), recently bought another 426,295 shares. This increased his stake by over 7.7 percent, and came to a total just over $750,000. Insiders have been net buyers in the past year, largely by Karmin and another director that also has a stake over 10 percent. All told, insiders own just under 80 percent of shares. Tile Shop Holdings, a ...
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The investment world throws out a lot of numbers—and anyone just getting started with investing may find it overwhelming. But like any other activity, it simply has its own language. When it comes to the numbers that get thrown out, understanding just a few of the simplest concepts can go a long way towards building up a track record of trading success. Trading Tips’ Andrew Packer will get you started with making profitable trades ...
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Big bet on decline in shares in the next six months. Over 4,000 contracts traded on the April 17th, 2020 $10 put options on Marathon Oil (MRO). The option had a prior open interest of just 175 trades, making for a 23-fold rise in volume on the option. With a current price around $11.50, shares would need to drop 15 percent for the option trade to move in-the-money. For a company in the energy space, that kind of move in six months ...
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Founder and Executive Chairman makes 300,000 share buy. Richard Kinder, the billionaire founder and Executive Chairman of Kinder Morgan (KMI), recently bought 300,000 shares. At a cost of just over $6 million, the buy only increases his stake by about 0.1 percent. Insider data for the company as a whole shows major regular buys from Kinder, but more mixed results from other executives, including a few sales in the past year. On total share count, however, insiders are buyers far more ...
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