Analysts are weighing in on JPM, COF, and BAC
U.S. stocks are higher as oil futures climb. Among specific equities in focus today are financial stocks JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF), and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC).Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on JPM, COF, and BAC.
- JPM is up 0.4% at $78.01, after Evercore ISI raised its target price on the finance giant to $85 from $74 -- in uncharted territory. JPM is up more than 11% since the presidential election, and touched a record high of $80.44 last week. JPMorgan Chase & Co. maintained its position on the updated version of the Financial Stability Board's list of global systemically important banks, which was released today, and CEO Jamie Dimon is reportedly out of the running for Trump's Treasury secretary, a position sources say Dimon never held interest in. JPM's option pits have been busy as of late, with both call and put open interest hitting an annual high on Friday, before November expiration. Widening the scope, bearish betting has ramped up in recent weeks; JPM's 10-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) of 1.05 sits in the 73rd percentile of its annual range.
- COF is up 1.3% at $83.04, after a price-target hike to $82 from $73 from Evercore ISI. Capital One Financial Corp. shares have been on a steady upswing since hitting a post-Brexit low of $58.02, and currently sit within a chip-shot of their annual high of $83.82, touched just last week. Near-term option buyers are getting some bang for their buck -- even with COF's call open interest hitting an annual high on Friday -- with the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 24% sitting in the bottom 21% of its annual range, indicating option players are pricing in relatively muted volatility expectations. Likewise, COF's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 77 indicates COF has tended to outperform volatility expectations over the past year.
- BAC is trading up 1.4% at $20.28 -- a new eight-year high -- after several analysts weighed in on the financial stock earlier today. While Jyske cut BAC to "sell" from "buy," Bernstein and Evercore ISI issued price-target hikes to $22 and $23, respectively. BAC has been riding the finance rally, tacking on 19% since the U.S. election, and over 20% year-to-date. Now looks to be a good time to buy Bank of America Corp's short-term options, with BAC's SVI of 26% sitting in the bottom 13% of its annual range, while the SVS of 92 suggests the stock has tended to exceed option players' volatility expectations over the past 12 months.
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