MS Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money MS 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 $210.00 strike at 2.9% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
MS covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $202.42 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $210.00 | 3.7% | $5.85 | 2.9% | 29.3% | $196.57 | 6.6% | 4 |
| $215.00 | 6.2% | $4.30 | 2.1% | 21.5% | $198.12 | 8.3% | 38 |
| $225.00 | 11.2% | $2.20 | 1.1% | 11.0% | $200.23 | 12.2% | 4 |
What the $210.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $202.42. Profit caps at $1,343.00 if MS finishes above $210.00; below $196.57 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $151.82 | $-44.75 | $-4,475.50 |
| $164.47 | $-32.10 | $-3,210.37 |
| $177.12 | $-19.45 | $-1,945.25 |
| $189.77 | $-6.80 | $-680.13 |
| $202.42 | +$5.85 | +$585.00 |
| $215.07 | +$13.43 | +$1,343.00 |
| $227.72 | +$13.43 | +$1,343.00 |
| $240.37 | +$13.43 | +$1,343.00 |
| $253.02 | +$13.43 | +$1,343.00 |
When a covered call fits MS
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 MS 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 MS loaded.
Questions
- What does a MS covered call pay right now?
- The $210.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $5.85 per share, 2.9% of the $202.42 share price, or 29.3% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a MS covered call?
- Selling the $210.00 call against stock bought at $202.42 breaks even at $196.57 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if MS closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $210.00. Total return is 6.6%: the premium plus the move from $202.42 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on MS
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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.