Options Trading
What Was The Fed Thinking?
Ever since interest rates hit zero, we’ve come to expect consistent, mostly boring talk out of the Fed. The central bank has pledged to keep rates low for the foreseeable future. And, quantitative easing is slowly winding down. There’s not a whole Yellen and the Fed could say or do at this point that hasn’t […]
IYR, HES Options – Unusual Trading Activity – July 11, 2014
This week we’re taking a look at unusual options trading activity in iShares Dow Jones US Real Estate (IYR) and Hess (HES). As many of you know, unusual options volume can be a valuable indicator as to what traders are thinking, and more importantly, where these stocks are heading in the short-term. This is something professional options traders […]
Is The Latest Hot IPO Worth Investing In?
It’s been awhile since we’ve had a buzz-worthy IPO to discuss. Lately, IPO hype has been pretty sparse. After a big year for initial public offerings in 2013, the somewhat less bullish environment this year seems to have discouraged big name IPOs from moving forward. However, IPOs may be back en vogue after GoPro’s (GPRO) […]
Call Options Or Put Options On Priceline.com (PCLN)?
Priceline.com (PCLN) is an online travel, hotel reservation, and rental car booking company. PCLN stock is sitting right at its 50-day moving average and looks like it could be ready to make a move. But will it be higher or lower? PCLN shares recently traded at $1191.90, up 3% year-to-date. The stock’s down 14% from […]
CTL, PVA Options – Unusual Trading Activity
This week we’re taking a look at unusual options trading activity in CenturyLink (CTL) and Penn Virginia (PVA). As many of you know, unusual options volume can be a valuable indicator as to what traders are thinking, and more importantly, where these stocks are heading in the short-term. This is something professional options traders pay a lot of […]
Watch Out For September
Recently, I wrote an article discussing an interesting trade in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (EEM) options. The trade was meaningful because it was a significant bet or hedge on the entire emerging markets asset class. This week, there’s once again been an intriguing trade worth discussing. This massive trade could have broader implications on the […]
Does Apple (AAPL) Get The Beat?
For some time, investors and analysts have been speculating on what Apple (AAPL) is going to do with its over $150 billion in cash. Make no mistake, that’s as massive a cash hoard as you’ll ever see for a private company. In fact, Apple’s cash holdings alone would make it the 33rd largest public company […]
Apple (AAPL) Is Still The King Of Equities
Of all the surprises from this earnings season, none was as impressive as Apple (AAPL). The company flat out blew away all the analysts’ estimates, and then some. Here are some of the details… Apple’s first quarter profits came in at $11.62 per share on revenues of $45.6 billion. Analysts had predicted earnings per share […]
Should We Expect The Sideways Market Action To Continue?
The economy continues to chug along at a moderate pace. There’s not a whole lot to get excited about in the economic data. However, there’s absolutely no reason to believe a recession is in our future either. The recent slew of economic reports has been mostly positive, and mostly in line with expectations. Basically, any […]
What’s This Massive VIX Options Trade Telling Us?
If you’ve been reading my articles for any length of time, you know I often like to point out unusual options trades. Typically, once a week I’ll cover a couple trades which are either much bigger than normal or on stocks with historically low activity. However, sometimes I’ll come across a really interesting trade worth […]
