AGNC Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money AGNC call expiring Oct 23, 2026, priced from the settled chain: what it pays, what it yields, and where the trade stops making money. The richest right now is the $10.00 strike at 1.9% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
AGNC covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $9.88 share price, not by delta — the published chain carries premiums and open interest, not greeks, and inventing a delta here would be inventing data. Premium is the bid/ask midpoint where both sides quote, otherwise the last trade. The chain artifact publishes the six nearest expirations, so this is the longest one listed — 36 days out. Annualising anything shorter than a week says more about compounding arithmetic than about the trade, so those cells stay blank.
| Strike | % OTM | Premium | Yield | Annualised | Break-even | If assigned | OI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10.00 | 1.2% | $0.19 | 1.9% | 19.0% | $9.70 | 3.1% | 34 |
| $10.50 | 6.3% | $0.06 | 0.6% | 6.2% | $9.82 | 6.9% | 669 |
| $11.00 | 11.3% | $0.02 | 0.2% | 2.1% | $9.86 | 11.5% | 767 |
What the $10.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $9.88. Profit caps at $30.50 if AGNC finishes above $10.00; below $9.70 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $7.41 | $-2.29 | $-228.50 |
| $8.03 | $-1.67 | $-166.75 |
| $8.65 | $-1.05 | $-105.00 |
| $9.26 | $-0.43 | $-43.25 |
| $9.88 | +$0.19 | +$18.50 |
| $10.50 | +$0.30 | +$30.50 |
| $11.12 | +$0.30 | +$30.50 |
| $11.73 | +$0.30 | +$30.50 |
| $12.35 | +$0.30 | +$30.50 |
When a covered call fits AGNC
A covered call sells someone else the right to buy your shares at the strike. It pays you today and caps your upside there, so it suits a holding you are content to own flat and content to sell at the strike — not one you expect to run.
The premium is compensation for implied volatility. Rich implied volatility pays more, and usually pays more because the market expects a move; a high annualised number on a name about to report earnings is a warning as often as an opportunity. Check the AGNC expected move and the open-interest walls before assuming the strike is far enough away.
Full mechanics, assignment and rolling are in the covered call guide; to model a different strike or a multi-leg version, open the profit calculator with AGNC loaded.
Questions
- What does a AGNC covered call pay right now?
- The $10.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $0.19 per share, 1.9% of the $9.88 share price, or 19.0% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a AGNC covered call?
- Selling the $10.00 call against stock bought at $9.88 breaks even at $9.70 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if AGNC closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $10.00. Total return is 3.1%: the premium plus the move from $9.88 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on AGNC
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Educational, not investment advice. Options involve risk. Open interest is reported with a one-session lag by OCC, so these levels describe positioning as of the last settled session, not live intraday flow.