JPM Stock Stumbles on CEO Surgery Scare, Coronavirus Headwinds

Meanwhile, the firm also announced emergency coronavirus measures for its staff

Jake Scott

Deputy Editor

Mar 6, 2020 at 10:31 AM

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is deep in the red this morning, down 4.7% to trade at $108.57, amid news that its CEO Jamie Dimon is recovering from emergency heart surgery, according to a company announcement. Co-presidents and co-CEOs Daniel Pento and Gordon Smith will take over Dimon's role while he recovers. Meanwhile, the firm also announced that it asked thousands of employees to work from home one day in the coming weeks in an effort to test its emergency plans in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

The vast majority of the brokerage bunch is cautiously eyeing JPM. Of the 15 in coverage, 10 call the equity a "hold." The consensus 12-month target price of $137.65, however, is a healthy 27% premium to current levels.

This bearish sentiment comes as no surprise, considering the bank stock's recent behavior on the charts. The security has been in deep sell-off mode since late-February, right on the heels of its early-2020 record highs. In fact, the stock is off 22% year-to-date, and is now eyeing its third straight weekly skid.

Options traders, meanwhile, are picking up long calls at a quicker-than-usual clip. This is per the security's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 1.90 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits in the elevated 76th percentile of its annual range.

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