The JPMorgan income ETF closed at $57.32, down 0.8% this week, as short sellers added positions and borrowing costs spiked 9.3% to a three-week high. A dramatic shift in options sentiment — PCR fell 1.5 standard deviations below the 20-day mean — signals traders are heavily favoring calls over puts.
JEPI closed at $57.32 on April 24, down 0.5% on the day. The ETF fell 0.8% over the week but remains up 1.3% over the past month. The modest weekly decline comes as equity markets digested fresh volatility in covered-call strategies.
Short interest rose to 10.89 million shares as of April 23, representing 1.52% of the float. Shares short climbed 2.8% in one day and 4.5% over the week — the highest level since mid-April. The month-long trajectory shows two distinct phases: short interest collapsed from 11.3 million shares in mid-March to 7.7 million by late March, then rebuilt steadily through April.
Cost to borrow jumped to 1.54%, up 9.3% over the week — the steepest reading since April 7. CTB has been volatile, ranging from 1.13% to 1.73% over the past month. The current level sits above the recent average of 1.45%.
Utilisation surged to 66.53%, just shy of the 52-week high of 67.01%. Utilisation stood at 60.23% a week ago and has climbed 30 percentage points since early April, when it bottomed at 44%. Shares on loan are now at their tightest availability in a year.
Put-call ratio collapsed to 0.55 on April 24, down from a 20-day mean of 0.80. The reading sits 1.5 standard deviations below the recent average, indicating extreme call preference. Over the past five trading sessions, PCR plunged from 0.83 to 0.49 before rebounding slightly — a sharp departure from the March pattern, when PCR hovered near 1.0. The 52-week range runs from 0.41 to 2.49.
The decline in PCR suggests traders are positioning for upside or selling downside protection, a reversal from the elevated put demand seen in late March.
JEPI distributed monthly dividends of $0.42 in April and $0.35 in March. Historical payouts have ranged from $0.35 to $0.59. The next dividend announcement typically comes in late May. Volatility in covered-call strategies will continue to drive premium income, and any shift in equity market volatility will influence both options flow and dividend yield.
Utilisation is now within 50 basis points of the 52-week high. If it breaches that ceiling, borrowing costs could spike further. The disconnect between rising short interest and surging call activity sets up a potential squeeze scenario if the ETF rallies.
See the live data behind this article on ORTEX.
Open JEPI on ORTEX →ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
