JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Trading Up 4% – Still a Buy?

Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) rose 4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $324.25 and last traded at $322.47. Approximately 17,496,858 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 48% from the average daily volume of 11,801,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $310.16.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting JPMorgan Chase & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC raised its rating on JPM to Hold following Q4 results, signaling that JPM’s quarterly beat and revenue growth are persuading some sell?side analysts to become less negative. JPMorgan Chase raised to Hold at HSBC after Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan strategists highlighted crypto opportunities — arguing bitcoin may be more attractive than gold long-term — which supports JPM’s growing crypto product efforts and could boost fee and trading revenue expectations. Bitcoin May Now Be More Attractive Than Gold Long-Term, Says JPMorgan Strategist
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan’s move into regulated stablecoins (JPMD on Base) and banks’ broader stablecoin adoption reinforce JPM’s fintech/crypto positioning, a potential new revenue stream and strategic differentiator. Stablecoins Enter Banking Mainstream as Traditional Finance Challenges Crypto-Native Dominance
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan completed a $3 billion subordinated notes offering — a capital markets action that strengthens funding/capital but can raise near?term funding costs; investors will watch regulatory and capital ratios. JPMorgan Chase completes $3 billion subordinated notes offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and market debates about JPMorgan’s tech strategy and whether recent rate?driven gains are already priced in leave valuation questions — important for medium/long?term investors. JPMorgan’s Tech Ambitions Are Real, but Is the Stock a Buy After Rate-Driven Gains?
• Neutral Sentiment: Robert W. Baird moved JPM to “Neutral” (an upgrade in institutional sentiment but not a bullish rating), signaling mixed analyst views despite the beat. Robert W. Baird Upgrades JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to “Neutral”
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan commentary that Kevin Warsh would “make the case for rate cuts” (if selected to lead the Fed) raises the prospect of easier policy — a potential headwind for net interest margin and bank profitability. Warsh will ‘Make the Case For Rate Cuts,’ Says JPMorgan
• Negative Sentiment: Allegations from a high?profile crypto lawyer claiming JPMorgan manipulates bitcoin are reputationally negative and could attract regulatory/PR scrutiny, though such claims don’t yet show concrete legal exposure. Pro-XRP Lawyer Deaton Claims JPMorgan Is Manipulating Bitcoin, Just Like Silver

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on JPM. Zacks Research lowered JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Freedom Capital raised shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, DZ Bank restated a “neutral” rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.18.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $315.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $877.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.07.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.93 by $0.30. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 20.35%.The company had revenue of $46.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.81 EPS. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other news, CFO Jeremy Barnum sold 2,893 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.79, for a total transaction of $904,901.47. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,350,241.84. This trade represents a 9.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 3,404 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.80, for a total transaction of $1,064,771.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 65,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,442,418.40. This represents a 4.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,868 shares of company stock worth $4,650,596. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 48,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,682,000 after purchasing an additional 4,841 shares during the period. Acorns Advisers LLC lifted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Acorns Advisers LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 66,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 19,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,626,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Finally, Viewpoint Investment Partners Corp lifted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 134.7% in the second quarter. Viewpoint Investment Partners Corp now owns 17,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,100,000 after purchasing an additional 10,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Company Profile

JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) is a diversified global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. The company provides a wide range of banking and financial products and services to consumers, small businesses, corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Its operations span retail banking, commercial lending, investment banking, asset management, payments and card services, and treasury and securities services.

The firm’s principal business activities are organized across several core lines: Consumer & Community Banking, which offers deposit accounts, mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and branch and digital banking under the Chase brand; Corporate & Investment Banking, which provides capital markets, advisory, underwriting, trading and risk management services; Commercial Banking, delivering lending, treasury and capital solutions to middle-market and corporate clients; and Asset & Wealth Management, which offers investment management, private banking and retirement services to institutions and high-net-worth individuals.