The regional banking failures continue, with First Republic getting gobbled up by JP Morgan Chase (JPM) and now PacWest (PACW) searching for strategic options. That means the company is looking for ways out of the current situation and will likely result in a merger or acquisition with a bigger bank. At least one trader may […]
This Strategy Works Great Even in These Ugly Markets
For almost a year, the stock market has been brutal for those investors who have tried to time the next upturn or downturn. Since the bear market first bottomed last June (and then again in October), the stock market rallies have run enough to get investors excited before dashing their hopes by turning down again. […]
Pharma Giant On the Mend
The pharma giant GSK PLC (GSK) is working to emerge from years with a share price that goes nowhere. The company’s CEO, Emma Walmsley, is still trying to convince investors that she is delivering a “new chapter of growth” after many years of underperformance. GSK shares are down 3% over the past five years, while […]
How to Identify Opportunities in Community Banks
Sitting down with Phil Timyan to talk about banks and bank stock is a rare treat. Phil Timyan has been on both sides of the table as a banker and investor. He has filed 13D on several banks and waged activist campaigns to improve bank operations and even the outright sale of under-performing banks. Phil […]
Did Investors Overreact to CROX earnings?
Crocs (CROX) posted earnings last week and the stock dropped about 15% after the fact. The company posted better than expected revenues for Q1 but Q2 guidance was disappointing. However, an options trader may be thinking that the selloff was overdone. This trader appears to have purchased a very bullish ratio call spread in CROX […]
Restaurants Are Packed! Is The Recession Fake News?
I’ve seen two hour waits at some of the best spots near me. Full restaurants don’t sound bearish, yet, you likely also keep seeing bearish news (like the recent First Republic Bank collapse). What’s going on? I looked at the recent earnings report for Dominos… the pizza company. Pizza orders gives you a great glimpse […]
So Far, No Crisis
Last week’s earnings reports from a few different REITs indicated that commercial office space and commercial lending have not fallen into the crisis the financial media has warned of. The fear in the markets is that low office space occupancy will lead to declining property values and commercial mortgage defaults. Also, since commercial mortgages are […]
Trade of the Week: Bonds
While options block trades can potentially provide insight into what the smart money is doing, it’s impossible to know for sure what the goal of a big trade is. For instance, a 22,000-lot call spread expiring in October appears to have been purchased in iShares 20+ Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) options. This would seem to […]
The Greatest Bank Investing Opportunity in Over a Decade
Not long ago, I sat down with Jay Soloff, who runs several outstanding options income and trading services at Investors Alley. We had a long discussion about what is going on in the markets in general and banks, specifically. I talked at length with Jay about what has happened in the banking industry since early […]
The Good News in Preferred Stocks
Last week I was a speaker at the MoneyShow in Las Vegas. Besides speaking, I like to network with a wide range of investment professionals. I was intrigued by one idea concerning preferred stocks from the discussions: that they will allow investors to benefit from the Fed’s interest rate increases. Preferred stock shares can be […]