JPMorgan options flow points to bullish positioning ahead of Friday expiry

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) showed a bullish stance in Tuesday's options activity as the stock closed at $352.91 (+0.79%) and rose to $353.08 in after-hours trading. The options tape displayed a call/put ratio of ~1.63x, indicating bullish conviction. Notably, 5,688 contracts on the Sept 18 $355 call had open interest of 2,928, signaling fresh positions opened on the day.

With JPM at $352.91 and expiry Friday, these calls are $2.09 out-of-the-money, representing a sharp 3-day sprint towards $355. Meanwhile, the Oct 16 $375/$385 call spread and standalone $345/$340 put spread suggest a more patient camp positioning for a mid-October rally. The weekly signal is Strong Buy, and the daily sits at Neutral, with the 52-week high of $366.50 in sight for the October call spread crowd.

The flow composite indicates aggressive near-money calls, longer-dated bull spreads, and falling skew, with put spreads acting as hedges. However, the high-volume Sept 18 $355 calls are a high-conviction, high-decay bet, as they expire worthless if JPM doesn't surpass $355 by Friday's close.