Trader Made $7.5 Million on Suspiciously-Timed Debt Limit Deal Trade Walt Hickey - Business Insider As part of the debt ceiling deal, one surprise concession that made it into the bill was the approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a 304-mile natural gas connection from northwest West Virginia to southern Virginia. A pet project of West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin that had been mired in Congress, the law forces action on permits that should push the project forward. /jlne.ws/42nBT1A
" [...] On May 24, a few days before an agreement was struck, a mystery trader bought 100,000 call options — essentially bets on a stock-price increase — on Equitrans Midstream. Then, on May 27, the debt deal including the Mountain Valley Pipeline was struck. Following that announcement, Equitrans Midstream shares jumped 49%. From the looks of it, the bet earned the trader $7.5 million as of last Friday, according to Bloomberg. The options are still outstanding, so that number could grow in the event that Equitrans Midstream continues to rally. That kind of perfect timing is, needless to say, fishy. The deal on Mountain Valley was kept secret up until the debt deal was announced. Some are suspicious enough they want it investigated for potential insider trading. [...] "