Blue-Chip Banking Giant Slated to Report Earnings

JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) will report fourth-quarter financial results before the open on Friday, Jan. 12. The blue-chip bank concern has an upbeat post-earnings past, boasting gains in its last five next-day sessions in the red. Regardless of direction, JPM averaged a 3.3% next-day return over the last two years, which is lower than the 4.1% swing options players are pricing in this time around.  

Last seen 0.7% lower to trade at $169.46, JPMorgan Chase stock has largely managed to brush off the New Year jitters seen by the broader market. In fact, the shares hit an all-time high of $173.38 on Jan. 5. And despite pacing for its third-straight loss and moving below recent guidance higher at its 10-day moving average, JPM still boasts a 22.2% year-over-year lead.

There has been an uptick of bearish activity in JPM's options pits. This is per the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.80, which ranks in the elevated 99th percentile of annual readings. This suggests short-term options traders have rarely been more put-biased.