Generating consistent weekly income through covered calls and cash-secured puts requires systematic position management and strategic strike price selection. This comprehensive guide walks through a complete weekly review process, demonstrating how to evaluate existing positions, select optimal strike prices, and execute bilateral options strategies on two different stocks.
In this detailed tutorial, we examine real positions in Rumble (RUM) and Novavax (NVAX), showing the complete workflow from cost basis analysis to order execution. You'll learn how to use broker platforms effectively, filter option chains for specific strikes, evaluate liquidity indicators, and manage the unique challenges of trading lower-priced stocks with nickel increments.
The RUM position demonstrates several important principles for option sellers working with transitioning accounts. With 600 shares total at a cost basis of $10.17 per share, only 100 shares are currently available in the TD Ameritrade thinkorswim account, while the remaining 500 shares are still transferring from Robinhood.
This split position creates a common scenario that many traders face during broker transitions. The key decision is whether to continue selling options on the available shares or wait until all shares have transferred. In this case, the strategy is to proceed with the 100 available shares while waiting for the transfer to complete.
One of the most powerful techniques for evaluating covered call opportunities is using the strike price filter in your broker platform. Rather than scrolling through dozens of expiration dates and multiple strikes, filtering for a specific strike price allows you to see all available expiration dates for that single strike in one view.
For RUM, the initial target is the $10.50 strike, which aligns with the cost basis target. However, applying this filter reveals that many expiration dates don't have a $10.50 strike available. This is common with lower-priced stocks where certain strikes only appear as expiration approaches.
When the $10.50 strike shows blank rows for many expiration dates, it's time to expand the filter range. By adjusting the strike filter to show both $10.00 and $10.50, you can evaluate whether dropping to the $10.00 strike makes sense for your position.
With a cost basis of $10.17 and a break-even price (after premiums) of $8.03, selling a $10.00 covered call is still comfortably above the break-even point. This would sacrifice 17 cents per share compared to the $10.50 target, but it opens up many more contract opportunities, particularly for near-term expirations.
One critical aspect of selecting options contracts is evaluating their liquidity through volume and open interest. Contracts showing "n/a" for volume indicate zero trading activity, which makes them extremely difficult to fill at favorable prices.
The first viable opportunity appears 26 days out, showing a $0.10 to $0.15 bid-ask spread at the $10 strike. This contract has measurable volume and open interest of 3,500 contracts, indicating strong liquidity. The high open interest is partly because this is a monthly expiration rather than a weekly, which typically attracts more trading activity.
RUM trades in nickel increments ($0.05), which creates unique challenges for premium optimization. Unlike stocks where you can bid in penny increments, nickel-increment stocks limit your ability to fine-tune your pricing strategy. When the bid is $0.10 and the ask is $0.15, there's no middle ground - you must choose one or the other.
This limitation makes it harder to collect optimal premiums and reduces flexibility when rolling positions or adjusting trades. While the stock itself may be attractive for other reasons, the nickel increment trading can be frustrating enough to warrant moving to different underliers once positions are closed profitably.
After establishing the covered call position, the next step in the bilateral strategy is to sell a cash-secured put. This approach serves multiple strategic purposes: generating additional premium income, potentially acquiring more shares at a lower price, and systematically reducing the overall cost basis of the position.
With RUM trading at $6.38, the focus shifts to the $6.00 strike for the cash-secured put. This strike represents a price approximately 6% below the current market price, providing some downside buffer while still offering reasonable premium.
One of the most powerful benefits of selling cash-secured puts when you already own shares is the mathematical impact on your overall cost basis. Here's how it works:
Current Position: 600 shares at $10.17 per share = $6,102 total invested
If Assigned at $6.00: Additional 100 shares at $6.00 = $600 additional investment
New Total: 700 shares for $6,702 = $9.57 per share average cost
This cost basis reduction of $0.60 per share creates significant strategic flexibility. Once your overall cost basis drops to $9.57, you can potentially roll the existing $10.00 covered calls down to the $9.50 or $9.00 strikes, which typically command higher premiums because they're closer to at-the-money. This rolling strategy for a net credit allows you to continue generating income while adapting to the position's evolving cost basis.
Unlike covered calls, where you might target 30-60 days out for better premiums, cash-secured puts often work well with very near-term expirations. The strategy here is to focus on the closest expiration that offers acceptable premium.
For RUM, the nearest option is Friday expiration, just a few days away. The $6.00 strike shows a bid-ask spread of $0.10 to $0.20, with a mid-price of $0.15. In this case, targeting the $0.15 premium makes sense.
An important technical consideration when trading during account transitions is the difference between stock buying power and option buying power. Even if your account shows sufficient stock buying power (which settles quickly), option buying power may take several days to clear with the bank.
This can create situations where you have the capital to cover a cash-secured put assignment, but the broker restricts the trade because the option buying power hasn't settled yet. Understanding this limitation helps you plan your trading activities around settlement schedules, particularly during account transfers or after large deposits.
The NVAX position represents a significantly larger commitment than RUM, with 500 shares at an overall cost basis of $22.46 per share. While the stock is currently trading at $9.65, the focus remains on protecting the cost basis through strategic covered call placement rather than reacting emotionally to the unrealized loss.
This position perfectly illustrates why cost basis tracking is essential for option sellers. The cost basis with premium factored in provides a much more favorable break-even point, allowing for more aggressive strike price selection without risking realized losses.
With NVAX, the strike price filter is set to focus on the $22.50 target, which provides the best exit point while still maintaining the cost basis. However, like RUM, some expiration dates show no $22.50 strike available, particularly for dates further out.
When examining the option chain, several near-term expirations show limited or no premium at the $22.50 strike, with bid prices at zero and minimal volume. This indicates that market makers don't expect the stock to reach that level in the near term, making these contracts virtually untradable.
One of the most critical skills in covered call selection is evaluating whether additional time to expiration justifies the extra premium. For NVAX, this comparison becomes particularly interesting:
Option 1 - February 17th (60 days): $0.09 mid-price premium
Option 2 - March 17th (88 days): $0.30 mid-price premium
The March contract offers more than triple the premium ($30 vs. $9 per contract) for only 28 additional days. This represents substantially better time value. The math works out to roughly $1.07 per day for the March contract versus approximately $0.30 per day for the February contract.
An important practical consideration when trading on TD Ameritrade's thinkorswim platform is the commission structure. At $0.65 per contract, very small premiums can be eaten up entirely by fees. This makes targeting at least $10 in premium per contract a reasonable rule of thumb for the platform.
With two contracts available (200 shares), the March $22.50 covered calls would generate approximately $58 in net credit after fees. This makes the trade worthwhile from a commission-to-premium ratio perspective, whereas the February contract at only $9 total premium (less than $10 after fees) barely justifies the effort.
Before executing the cash-secured put on NVAX, it's valuable to calculate exactly how an assignment would affect the overall position. This forward-looking analysis helps inform whether the strategy makes sense given your goals.
Current Position: 500 shares at $22.46 per share = $11,230 total basis
Proposed Addition: 100 shares at $9.50 (target strike) = $950 additional basis
New Average Cost Basis: 600 shares for $12,180 = $20.30 per share
This cost basis reduction of $2.16 per share is substantial and creates excellent strategic flexibility. Once the overall cost basis drops to $20.30, the existing covered calls at the $22.50 strike can potentially be rolled down to the $20.00 or $20.50 strikes. Since these lower strikes are closer to at-the-money, they command higher premiums and can often be rolled for a net credit.
With NVAX trading at $9.66, the focus for cash-secured put selection is the $9.50 strike. This provides a small cushion (about 1.7% below current price) while offering reasonable premium for the near-term expiration.
Filtering the option chain to show strikes between $9.00 and $9.50 reveals the available contracts. As expected with cash-secured puts, the best opportunities are typically in the nearest expiration dates where time decay works most efficiently in your favor.
The broker platform indicates a 43-48% probability that this option will expire in-the-money, meaning there's nearly a coin-flip chance of assignment. Given that NVAX has been in a downtrend, this probability makes sense - the stock could easily continue declining another 1.7% before expiration.
From a strategic perspective, assignment is actually desirable in this case. Acquiring 100 more shares at $9.50 would lower the overall cost basis significantly, making the existing covered call positions more flexible. The premium collected provides additional cushion, further improving the effective purchase price.
In this particular case, the trade cannot be executed immediately due to insufficient option buying power in the account. This occurs because the account is in transition, with funds still settling. While the stock buying power shows plenty of capital available, option buying power operates on a different settlement schedule and requires several days to clear.
This demonstrates an important practical limitation that traders face during account transfers or after large deposits. The solution is to either wait for the funds to settle or focus trading activities on the covered call side, which uses shares as collateral rather than cash.
One of the most powerful features in the thinkorswim platform is the ability to filter the option chain by specific strike prices. This technique dramatically improves efficiency when you know exactly which strike you want to target.
Step-by-Step Filtering Process:
This filtering approach allows you to see at a glance which expiration dates offer your target strike and which don't. It eliminates the need to scroll through dozens of strikes across multiple expiration dates, saving significant time and reducing the chance of overlooking opportunities.
Two critical metrics appear in the option chain that many traders overlook: volume and open interest. Understanding these indicators helps you select contracts that will actually fill at favorable prices.
Volume shows how many contracts have traded today. High volume indicates active trading and suggests you'll be able to enter and exit the position easily. Contracts showing "n/a" for volume have seen zero trades, which means you may struggle to get fills.
Open Interest shows how many contracts currently exist for that strike and expiration. High open interest (hundreds or thousands of contracts) indicates strong liquidity and active market maker participation. Low open interest (single digits or zero) suggests limited interest and potentially wide bid-ask spreads.
When placing orders in thinkorswim, you can click directly on either the bid or ask price to populate the order ticket. Clicking the bid price automatically creates a sell order at that price. However, the most effective strategy is to target the mid-price (natural price) first.
The mid-price represents the midpoint between the bid and ask. For example, with a $0.10 bid and $0.15 ask, the mid is $0.125. However, if the stock trades in nickel increments, the platform will round to $0.10 or $0.15. In cases where penny increments are available, starting with the mid-price gives you the best chance of a fill while maximizing premium.
If the mid-price doesn't fill within a reasonable time, you can adjust downward by one penny at a time until the order executes. This systematic approach ensures you're getting the best available premium without leaving money on the table.
Throughout this tutorial, successful trading decisions depend on knowing precise cost basis information across different transaction types. MyATMM eliminates the complexity of tracking this manually by automatically calculating your true cost basis including all premiums collected, dividends received, and assignments completed.
When deciding whether to sell a $10.00 covered call on RUM, you need to know your break-even point after all premiums. When evaluating the NVAX cash-secured put, you need to calculate how assignment would affect your overall position. MyATMM provides these critical numbers instantly, allowing you to make informed decisions in real-time.
The bilateral strategy of simultaneously selling covered calls above your position and cash-secured puts below it creates complexity in tracking. You need to monitor:
MyATMM tracks all of these elements in one unified interface, eliminating the need for complex spreadsheets or mental math. You can see at a glance where you stand on each position and how potential assignments would impact your overall portfolio.
Manual tracking through spreadsheets creates numerous opportunities for errors. A single missed transaction, incorrect formula, or transposition error can throw off your entire cost basis calculation. This becomes especially problematic when you're trading multiple positions with frequent assignments and rolls.
MyATMM eliminates these errors by automatically calculating cost basis adjustments for every transaction type. When you enter a covered call sale, the premium immediately factors into your cost basis. When a cash-secured put gets assigned, the platform instantly recalculates your position size and average cost. This automation ensures accuracy while saving hours of spreadsheet work each week.
One of the most powerful concepts in this strategy is the ability to roll covered calls down to lower strikes as your cost basis decreases through put assignments. This creates a positive feedback loop where each assignment makes your existing covered calls more valuable.
Here's how it works: You sell covered calls at $10.50 when your cost basis is $10.17. You simultaneously sell cash-secured puts at $6.00. If the puts get assigned, your new cost basis drops to $9.57. Now you can roll those $10.50 covered calls down to $9.50 or even $9.00 for a net credit, because lower strikes command higher premiums.
This rolling process accomplishes several goals simultaneously:
A critical mindset shift for successful option selling is viewing the stock price as simply a mechanism for generating premium rather than an investment to appreciate. The NVAX example perfectly illustrates this: the stock is trading at $9.65 while the cost basis is $22.46, representing a significant unrealized loss.
However, the cost basis with premium is substantially lower, and the focus remains on collecting weekly or monthly cash flow through covered calls and cash-secured puts. The stock price going up, down, or sideways all provide opportunities:
This approach transforms options trading from speculation about direction into a systematic income generation strategy that works in any market condition.
The RUM example highlights an important practical consideration: stocks that trade in nickel increments can be frustrating for precise premium optimization. When you can only bid in $0.05 increments rather than $0.01, you lose flexibility in order placement and often leave money on the table.
For option sellers focused on maximizing premium collection, this suggests a preference for stocks that trade in penny increments. While you might hold positions in nickel-increment stocks for other reasons, understanding this limitation helps explain why some underliers are more efficient for options trading than others.
Options trading involves substantial risk and is not suitable for all investors. Covered calls limit your upside if the stock appreciates significantly above the strike price. Cash-secured puts require you to purchase shares at the strike price regardless of how far the stock may have fallen, potentially resulting in significant losses.
The examples in this article reflect specific market conditions from December 2022. Stock prices, volatility, and premium levels change constantly. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The bilateral strategy of selling both covered calls and cash-secured puts increases capital requirements and creates exposure to both upside and downside moves.
Before implementing these strategies, ensure you understand the risks, have adequate capital, and have a clear plan for managing assignments. Consider consulting with a qualified financial advisor about whether these strategies are appropriate for your individual situation and risk tolerance.
This content is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Always conduct your own research and due diligence before making investment decisions.
The weekly review process demonstrated with RUM and NVAX shows how systematic option selling becomes a repeatable income strategy. By focusing on cost basis protection, strike price filtering, liquidity analysis, and bilateral position management, you create a framework that works regardless of market direction.
The key principles to remember:
Whether you're managing positions during broker transitions like these examples or running an established options portfolio, the workflow remains consistent: analyze cost basis, filter for target strikes, evaluate premiums relative to time, and execute both sides of the bilateral strategy when appropriate.
Tools like MyATMM eliminate the manual tracking complexity, allowing you to focus on strategy execution rather than spreadsheet maintenance. As your positions grow and assignments occur, automated cost basis tracking becomes increasingly valuable for making real-time trading decisions.
Stop struggling with spreadsheets. MyATMM automatically tracks your cost basis across all covered calls, cash-secured puts, and assignments so you always know exactly where you stand.
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