XBI Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money XBI 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 $159.00 strike at 2.6% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
XBI covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $154.18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $159.00 | 3.1% | $4.06 | 2.6% | 26.7% | $150.12 | 5.8% | 0 |
| $162.00 | 5.1% | $3.17 | 2.1% | 20.8% | $151.02 | 7.1% | 2 |
What the $159.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $154.18. Profit caps at $888.50 if XBI finishes above $159.00; below $150.12 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $115.64 | $-34.48 | $-3,448.00 |
| $125.27 | $-24.84 | $-2,484.38 |
| $134.91 | $-15.21 | $-1,520.75 |
| $144.54 | $-5.57 | $-557.12 |
| $154.18 | +$4.06 | +$406.50 |
| $163.82 | +$8.88 | +$888.50 |
| $173.45 | +$8.88 | +$888.50 |
| $183.09 | +$8.88 | +$888.50 |
| $192.73 | +$8.88 | +$888.50 |
When a covered call fits XBI
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 XBI 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 XBI loaded.
Questions
- What does a XBI covered call pay right now?
- The $159.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $4.06 per share, 2.6% of the $154.18 share price, or 26.7% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a XBI covered call?
- Selling the $159.00 call against stock bought at $154.18 breaks even at $150.12 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if XBI closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $159.00. Total return is 5.8%: the premium plus the move from $154.18 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on XBI
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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.