MOS Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money MOS 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 $25.50 strike at 4.8% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
MOS covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $24.79 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25.50 | 2.9% | $1.20 | 4.8% | 49.1% | $23.59 | 7.7% | 65 |
| $26.00 | 4.9% | $1.00 | 4.0% | 40.9% | $23.79 | 8.9% | 15 |
| $27.50 | 10.9% | $0.68 | 2.7% | 27.6% | $24.12 | 13.7% | 54 |
What the $25.50 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $24.79. Profit caps at $191.00 if MOS finishes above $25.50; below $23.59 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $18.59 | $-5.00 | $-499.75 |
| $20.14 | $-3.45 | $-344.81 |
| $21.69 | $-1.90 | $-189.87 |
| $23.24 | $-0.35 | $-34.94 |
| $24.79 | +$1.20 | +$120.00 |
| $26.34 | +$1.91 | +$191.00 |
| $27.89 | +$1.91 | +$191.00 |
| $29.44 | +$1.91 | +$191.00 |
| $30.99 | +$1.91 | +$191.00 |
When a covered call fits MOS
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 MOS 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 MOS loaded.
Questions
- What does a MOS covered call pay right now?
- The $25.50 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $1.20 per share, 4.8% of the $24.79 share price, or 49.1% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a MOS covered call?
- Selling the $25.50 call against stock bought at $24.79 breaks even at $23.59 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if MOS closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $25.50. Total return is 7.7%: the premium plus the move from $24.79 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on MOS
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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.