Covered calls are a great strategy to add to any portfolio, particularly in this era of low yields. Covered calls can offer enhanced yield from stock holdings, in some case, that can be a significant increase.
To trade a covered call we need to own (or buy) 100 shares of a stock and then sell a call option against that stock position.
The goal is to generate income from the stock holding in addition to any dividends. The premium received from selling the call also covers a small decline in the stock price. However, the trade off is that stock gains are limited above the call option strike price.
High volatility stocks have the highest return potential with covered calls, but they also have the highest risk of an adverse price movement. It’s all about finding a strategy that fits the investors risk tolerance.
Let’s look at a few examples using Barchart’s Covered Call Screener.
This first example shows the results of the screener with the default parameters selected.
This result returns some stocks with very low market capitalization and, while the returns look great, the risks can also be very high. There are also 1159 results, so let’s try and narrow things down a little
Let’s add the following filters:
Now, we’re seeing some more mainstream names such as PLTR, AMD, SHOP, UBER, AMAT, AMZN, INTC and AMAT.
PLTR Covered Call Example
Let’s evaluate the first line item, a covered call on PLTR. Buying 100 shares of PLTR would cost $1,830.
The March $20-strike call option was trading yesterday around $1.75, generating $175 in premium per contract for covered call sellers.
Selling the call option generates an income of 10.57% in 100 days, equalling around 38.21% annualized.
The breakeven price is equal to the stock purchase price less the premium received, which in this case is 16.55.
PLTR is currently followed by 14 analysts with 2 Strong Buy ratings, 1 Moderate Buy rating, 5 Hold ratings, 1 Moderate Sell rating and 5 Strong Sell ratings.
The Barchart Technical Opinion rating is an 80% Buy with a weakening short term outlook on maintaining the current direction.
The current IV Percentile is 8% which means that the current level of implied volatility is higher than only 8% of all occurrences in the last 12 months.
AMD Covered Call Example
Let’s look at another example, this time using AMD.
Buying 100 shares of AMD would cost $11,838. The March $130-strike call option was trading yesterday around $6.10, generating $610 in premium per contract for covered call sellers.
Selling the call option generates an income of 5.43% in 100 days, equalling around 19.63% annualized.
The breakeven price is 112.28.
AMD is currently followed by 29 analysts with 22 Strong Buy ratings, 1 Moderate Buy rating and 6 Hold ratings.
The Barchart Technical Opinion rating is a 72% Buy with a weakening short term outlook on maintaining the current direction.
The current IV Percentile is 2% which means that the current level of implied volatility is higher than just 2% of all occurrences in the last 12 months.
Please remember that options are risky, and investors can lose 100% of their investment. This article is for education purposes only and not a trade recommendation. Remember to always do your own due diligence and consult your financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
On the date of publication, Gavin McMaster did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
