UNH Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money UNH 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 $385.00 strike at 3.5% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
UNH covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $375.26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $385.00 | 2.6% | $13.20 | 3.5% | 35.7% | $362.06 | 6.1% | 19 |
| $395.00 | 5.3% | $9.95 | 2.7% | 26.9% | $365.31 | 7.9% | 38 |
| $415.00 | 10.6% | $4.70 | 1.3% | 12.7% | $370.56 | 11.8% | 59 |
What the $385.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $375.26. Profit caps at $2,294.00 if UNH finishes above $385.00; below $362.06 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $281.45 | $-80.62 | $-8,061.50 |
| $304.90 | $-57.16 | $-5,716.12 |
| $328.35 | $-33.71 | $-3,370.75 |
| $351.81 | $-10.25 | $-1,025.38 |
| $375.26 | +$13.20 | +$1,320.00 |
| $398.71 | +$22.94 | +$2,294.00 |
| $422.17 | +$22.94 | +$2,294.00 |
| $445.62 | +$22.94 | +$2,294.00 |
| $469.08 | +$22.94 | +$2,294.00 |
When a covered call fits UNH
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 UNH 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 UNH loaded.
Questions
- What does a UNH covered call pay right now?
- The $385.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $13.20 per share, 3.5% of the $375.26 share price, or 35.7% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a UNH covered call?
- Selling the $385.00 call against stock bought at $375.26 breaks even at $362.06 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if UNH closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $385.00. Total return is 6.1%: the premium plus the move from $375.26 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on UNH
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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.