Today’s tickers: JPM, BCS, ARCC & YGE
Commentary to resume Monday, November 28th
JPM - JPMorgan Chase & Co. – JPMorgan blends in with the sea of red today, its shares trading lower by 3.2% to stand at $28.48, as of 11:55 AM in New York. But, fresh prints in weekly options covering the banking institution reveal some strategists are initiating low-probability bullish positions on the stock should shares rebound after the holiday. Call options expiring on Friday saw an influx of buyers paying as little as a penny per contract to prepare for a near-term rebound. Trading traffic in the front-week calls is heaviest at the Nov. ’25 $29 strike where more than 7,600 contracts changed hands against previously existing open interest of 340 positions. It looks like most of these calls were purchased for an average premium of $0.30 apiece. Investors long the calls may profit at expiration this week in the event that JPM’s shares rally 2.9% to exceed the average breakeven point at $29.30. Traders also purchased another 1,000 calls at each of the Nov. $30 and $31 strikes for average premiums of $0.06 and $0.01 each, respectively. Meanwhile, like-minded optimism appears to have spread out to contracts that expire one week from this Friday. Investors itching for a rebound picked up around 1,500 in-the-money calls at the Dec. ’02 $28 strike for an average premium of $1.28 a-pop. Call buyers make money if shares in JPMorgan Chase & Co. top the average breakeven price of $29.28 at expiration on December 2. Options implied volatility on the stock rose 13.8% to 53.5% in early-afternoon trade.
BCS - Barclays PLC – A burst of call…
