VG Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money VG 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 $15.00 strike at 6.7% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
VG covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $14.65 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | 2.4% | $0.98 | 6.7% | 67.5% | $13.68 | 9.0% | 20 |
| $15.50 | 5.8% | $0.85 | 5.8% | 58.8% | $13.80 | 11.6% | 61 |
| $16.00 | 9.2% | $0.60 | 4.1% | 41.5% | $14.05 | 13.3% | 87 |
What the $15.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $14.65. Profit caps at $132.50 if VG finishes above $15.00; below $13.68 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $10.99 | $-2.69 | $-268.75 |
| $11.90 | $-1.77 | $-177.19 |
| $12.82 | $-0.86 | $-85.62 |
| $13.73 | +$0.06 | +$5.94 |
| $14.65 | +$0.98 | +$97.50 |
| $15.57 | +$1.32 | +$132.50 |
| $16.48 | +$1.32 | +$132.50 |
| $17.40 | +$1.32 | +$132.50 |
| $18.31 | +$1.32 | +$132.50 |
When a covered call fits VG
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 VG 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 VG loaded.
Questions
- What does a VG covered call pay right now?
- The $15.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $0.98 per share, 6.7% of the $14.65 share price, or 67.5% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a VG covered call?
- Selling the $15.00 call against stock bought at $14.65 breaks even at $13.68 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if VG closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $15.00. Total return is 9.0%: the premium plus the move from $14.65 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on VG
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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.