Semiconductor stocks have performed well in 2020. However, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) has been one of the hottest stocks in the market due to its exposure to gaming and the repeated stumbles of top competitor Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC).On Tuesday, large option traders were making some huge bets that AMD's 90% rally off the March lows is far from over.The Trades: On Tuesday, Benzinga Pro subscribers received 28 option alerts related to unusually large trades of AMD options. Here are a handful of the largest: * At 9:39 a.m., a trader bought 334 AMD call options with a $85 strike price expiring on March 19, 2021 near the ask price at $12.68. The trade represented a $423,512 bullish bet. * At 10:39 a.m., a trader bought 500 AMD call options with a $55 strike price expiring on Oct. 16 at the ask price of $26. The trade represented a $1.3 million bullish bet. * At 10:47 a.m., a trader sold 373 AMD put options with an $80 strike price expiring on Jan. 15, 2021 near the bid price at $12.201. The trade represented a $455,097 bullish bet. * At 11:47 a.m., a trader bought 711 AMD call options with an $80 strike price expiring on Oct. 16 at the ask price of $7.39. The trade represented a $525,429 bullish bet.Of the 28 total large AMD option trades on Tuesday morning, 21 were calls purchased at or near the ask or puts sold at or near the bid, trades typically seen as bullish. Seven trades represented calls sold at or near the bid or puts purchased at or near the ask, trades typically seen as bearish. The five largest trades of the morning were all bullish in nature.Why It's Important: Even traders who stick exclusively to stocks often monitor option market activity closely for unusually large trades. Given the relative complexity of the options market, large options traders are typically considered to be more sophisticated than the average stock trader.Many of these large options traders are wealthy individuals or institutions who may have unique information or theses related to the underlying stock.Unfortunately, stock traders often use the options market to hedge against their larger stock positions, and there's no surefire way to determine if an options trade is a standalone position or a hedge. In this case, given the relatively large sizes of the largest option trades, they could certainly represent institutional hedging.AMD On The Path To $100? AMD reported 26% revenue growth in the second quarter, the same quarter Intel said it found a flaw in its 7-nanometer chip manufacturing process and may be forced to rely on third-party manufacturing. Intel has lagged AMD in GPU technology for the past several years, allowing AMD to eat into its leading market share.On Monday, Jefferies reiterated its Buy rating for AMD and raised its price target from $95 to $135, suggesting another 69% upside from current levels."As it does, we think that the bull case for AMD, which is based largely on AMD capturing 30% share from INTC over the next 2-to-3 years, will morph to a 50% market share bull case 4-to-5 years out," analyst Mark Lipacis said. AMD Chart by TradingView new TradingView.widget( { "width": 680, "height": 423, "symbol": "NASDAQ:AMD", "interval": "D", "timezone": "Etc/UTC", "theme": "light", "style": "1", "locale": "en", "toolbar_bg": "f1f3f6", "enable_publishing": false, "allow_symbol_change": true, "container_id": "tradingview_940f9" } ); Benzinga's Take: Tuesday's large option trading was heavily skewed to the bullish side, suggesting deep-pocketed traders are expecting more good news from AMD and potentially bad news from Intel in the coming months. The $1.3 million call purchase has a break-even price of $81, suggesting at least 2.5% upside for the stock over the next two months.Related Links:UPS Option Trader Bets M The Stock's Huge Rally Isn't Over How To Read And Trade An Option AlertSee more from Benzinga * Semiconductor Short Sellers Take 0M Hit From AMD Earnings Beat * What Mark Cuban Says Could Be The Greatest Threat To America's Tech, Military Future * Nvidia Option Trader Bets .3M On Near-Term Upside(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Stocks opened higher Tuesday evening, after a choppy session earlier sent the S&P 500 within striking distance of a record close before the the blue-chip index lost steam and declined.

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(Bloomberg) — Tesla Inc. is splitting its elevated shares in a 5-for-1 exchange, a move timed to make the stock price less expensive for individual investors after becoming the world’s most valuable automaker. Its shares surged on the news in aftermarket trading.Each shareholder of record on Aug. 21 will receive a dividend of four additional shares of common stock for each share, the Silicon Valley electric-car manufacturer said Tuesday. Trading will begin on a split-adjusted basis on Aug. 31.The split is a time decision to capitalize on Tesla’s recent surge, which has pushed its valuation to around $256 billion, surpassing the value of Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. combined. With a price as as high as $1,643 in recent weeks, the shares are beyond the reach of many smaller stock investors just as the EV industry is capturing their imagination.Analysts praised the move as a timely decision to capitalize on Tesla’s recent stock price surge.“At a time where the appetite for the stock and overall EV story continues to gain momentum, I think it’s a smart move,” said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush who rates the shares the equivalent of a hold. Tesla’s move follows a similar split by Apple Inc., which Ives said other tech giants are likely to emulate.Apple announced a 4-for-1 stock split after the close on July 30 and retail traders have piled in to bet on further gains.More Accessible Tesla has been a favorite stock for day traders and other retail investors, who have helped boost the shares to record highs. At one point last month, nearly 40,000 Robinhood account holders added shares of the automaker during a single four-hour span. That helped spawn a boom in shares of other electric-car companies — even those that have yet to actually produce a vehicle.Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy said in a note to investors that the split makes the shares more accessible to both retail investors and Tesla employees, noting the high stock price “may have been a barrier for retail” investors.At its peak on July 20, Tesla’s stock price was more than quadruple a March low of $361.22. Some of those gains came amid speculation the automaker is likely to join the S&P 500 after it reported the latest in a string of profitable quarters, making it a true blue-chip and a must-buy for mutual and exchange-traded funds that seek to mimic that benchmark stock index.In aftermarket trading Tuesday, Tesla rose as much as 8.4% to $1,490.The timing of the split may have come as a surprise to close followers of Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s Twitter feed. He was asked on June 30 whether he had any thoughts about a Tesla stock split and said it was worth discussing at the company’s annual meeting, which isn’t until Sept. 22(Updates with analyst comments from third paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Joe Biden used a tax strategy to evade paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll taxes, as he criticizes President Trump’s plan for a payroll tax deferral.

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Invesco Global Market Strategist Brian Levitt joins Yahoo Finance’s Kristin Myers to discuss his market outlook amid hopes for a vaccine and further stimulus.

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Stocks mostly rose Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing in on a record level as hopes for a vaccine and further stimulus spurred a global risk rally and a pop in “reopening” stocks.

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Every investor in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE:TEVA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder…

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