Market Insights
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Big Tech De-fangs the SPY: July at TradeStation
FANG ruled the roost in this month as volatility swept the Nasdaq. The two busiest stocks for TradeStation clients in July were members of the high-tech quartet: Facebook (FB) and Netflix (NFLX). Both crashed from record highs after mediocre quarterly reports raised...
Buyers Rotate into These Sectors as Tech Stalls
Last week was rough for technology. But now investors are looking for gains in some new areas. The SPDR Industrial ETF (XLI) and SPDR Health Care ETF (XLV) are the two best performing sector funds over the last month with gains of about 7 percent each. XLI is also on...
Know Your Options: Diagonal Spread Targets Apple Volatility Crush
One of the most predictable things in the market is time decay after a big event like earnings. Have you ever used a diagonal spread to capitalize on the change? Today we'll see how it's done. First, remember that option premiums attempt to factor in price swings. As...
Tech Falls as Earnings and Economic Data Disappoint
Technology stocks took a hit last week, but the broader market still managed a fourth straight gain. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent between Friday, July 20, and Friday, July 27. That contrasted with the Nasdaq-100's decline of 0.7 percent. Sub-par earnings and...
Suddenly Tech Is a Margin Story
Technology stocks are usually all about growth, but in the last few days costs have been the talk of the town more recently. Facebook (FB) is the big example, losing a record $119 billion of market value yesterday. Slower growth was part of the problem, but most...
Caution Reigns in Chip Space: Options Recap
Options traders are bracing against a drop in chip makers as earnings season marches on. Here's a breakdown a large bearish spread in the Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) yesterday: Roughly 22,000 September 100 puts were bought for $1.85. Roughly 22,000...
Tech Mixed, Industrials Strong: Earnings This Week
It was the best of times and the worst of times. The saying was seldom truer than the past week's earnings reports. Starting with the bad news first, there's one word everyone needs know: Facebook (FB). The social-media giant slammed into a wall of rising costs and...
Wall Street Not Abandoning Netflix After Drop: Research Recap
Wall Street was thick with analyst notes on Netflix (NFLX) yesterday after the streaming-media darling fell on weak subscriber growth. The research was surprisingly positive given the news. Here's a summary of a few big takeaways. First, some analysts tried to cast...
Monster Options Volume in New Media Darling
Love it? Hate it? Trade it! That's the story today in Netflix (NFLX). The new-media darling cratered this morning on news of weak subscriber growth, before clawing back most of its losses. Analysts were all over the map in response, with some cutting estimates and...