USAR Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money USAR 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 $15.50 strike at 8.4% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
USAR covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $15.10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15.50 | 2.6% | $1.28 | 8.4% | 85.6% | $13.83 | 11.1% | 33 |
| $16.00 | 6.0% | $1.05 | 7.0% | 70.5% | $14.05 | 12.9% | 61 |
| $16.50 | 9.3% | $0.97 | 6.4% | 65.1% | $14.13 | 15.7% | 23 |
What the $15.50 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $15.10. Profit caps at $167.50 if USAR finishes above $15.50; below $13.83 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $11.33 | $-2.50 | $-250.00 |
| $12.27 | $-1.56 | $-155.63 |
| $13.21 | $-0.61 | $-61.25 |
| $14.16 | +$0.33 | +$33.13 |
| $15.10 | +$1.28 | +$127.50 |
| $16.04 | +$1.68 | +$167.50 |
| $16.99 | +$1.68 | +$167.50 |
| $17.93 | +$1.68 | +$167.50 |
| $18.88 | +$1.68 | +$167.50 |
When a covered call fits USAR
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 USAR 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 USAR loaded.
Questions
- What does a USAR covered call pay right now?
- The $15.50 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $1.28 per share, 8.4% of the $15.10 share price, or 85.6% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a USAR covered call?
- Selling the $15.50 call against stock bought at $15.10 breaks even at $13.83 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if USAR closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $15.50. Total return is 11.1%: the premium plus the move from $15.10 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on USAR
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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.