Saturday, November 23, 2024
If you traded during the dotcom boom of the late ’90s, you probably have fond memories of Cisco Systems (CSCO). The Silicon Valley networking giant was one of the most popular stocks of that era—for several years, the price of the stock did nothing but go up. [insert Cisco image we have in the media […]
Starbucks (SBUX) showed up on the unusual options volume page last week for the first time in quite a while. The coffee giant saw its shares drop 3.7% in one day, with 2.7x the number of options traded compared to the average. However, 61% of the options traded were calls, which tends to be a […]
One of the most interesting developments in the financial markets in 2021 is the rise of the meme stock. Meme stocks are the ones that get a bunch of attention on social media platforms like Twitter and chat groups on Reddit. The meme stock phenomenon really caught the public’s eye, starting with GameStop (GME) in […]
For the first time in a while, First Solar (FSLR) showed up on the unusual options volume radar. The domestic solar company has seen its stock price perform nicely since 2020 and the push for more green energy solutions in the US. The options on FSLR traded 6x the normal volume on a day last […]
While 2021 has been a very unusual year for the stock market, the most notable thing to happen is the rise of meme stocks. Meme stocks are the ones that get talked about on social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit. The first one to achieve widespread public attention was GameStop (GME). Generally speaking, meme […]
There was 3.5x the normal volume of options in Zoom Video Communications (ZM) on one day last week. 64% of the trade were calls, which suggests a slightly bullish bias. ZM had dropped quite a bit recently after releasing disappointing earnings. However, Cathie Wood and her ARKK fund decided to use the opportunity to buy more ZM shares. This […]
The banking sector can be challenging to trade when interest rates are near zero. On the one hand, banks tend to earn more profits when interest rates are higher. On the other hand, if low interest rates lead to economic improvement, that’s good news for banks. The reason ultra-low interest rates are typically not the […]
The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) is a very popular product that tracks the performance of small cap stocks. While it trades over 500,000 contracts on average per day, there are some interesting block trades that hit the tape now and then in IWM options. In this case, a 26,000 block of March covered calls […]
Throughout history, gold has been the asset to which investors flocked in times of economic uncertainty. Although gold’s direct impact on currencies has diminished over the last century, the precious metal is still a very important asset. Undoubtedly, gold remains relevant as a safe-haven asset. Gold has served as a hedge against just about every […]
Last week, for a brief period, there was some extreme options action in Cboe Global Markets (CBOE). The options traded 12x the normal volume, with 91% of the volume in calls. That many calls trading tends to be a bullish signal. In this case, the action was due to a rumor that CME had made […]
