JNJ Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money JNJ 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 $275.00 strike at 2.2% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
JNJ covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $267.28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $275.00 | 2.9% | $5.98 | 2.2% | 22.7% | $261.30 | 5.1% | 39 |
| $280.00 | 4.8% | $4.30 | 1.6% | 16.3% | $262.98 | 6.4% | 87 |
| $295.00 | 10.4% | $1.44 | 0.5% | 5.5% | $265.84 | 10.9% | 11 |
What the $275.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $267.28. Profit caps at $1,369.50 if JNJ finishes above $275.00; below $261.30 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $200.46 | $-60.84 | $-6,084.50 |
| $217.16 | $-44.14 | $-4,414.00 |
| $233.87 | $-27.43 | $-2,743.50 |
| $250.58 | $-10.73 | $-1,073.00 |
| $267.28 | +$5.98 | +$597.50 |
| $283.98 | +$13.70 | +$1,369.50 |
| $300.69 | +$13.70 | +$1,369.50 |
| $317.40 | +$13.70 | +$1,369.50 |
| $334.10 | +$13.70 | +$1,369.50 |
When a covered call fits JNJ
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 JNJ 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 JNJ loaded.
Questions
- What does a JNJ covered call pay right now?
- The $275.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $5.98 per share, 2.2% of the $267.28 share price, or 22.7% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a JNJ covered call?
- Selling the $275.00 call against stock bought at $267.28 breaks even at $261.30 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if JNJ closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $275.00. Total return is 5.1%: the premium plus the move from $267.28 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on JNJ
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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.