GDX wheel: cash-secured put & covered-call yields
VanEck Gold Miners ETF · ETFs · $81.84 close on Nov 12, 2026
What the Nov 12, 2026 close says about GDX
At 42.4% implied volatility, the options market is pricing a one-standard-deviation move of about $10.90 (13.3%) in GDX by Dec 18, 2026, 36 days out.
Selling the $77 put (−0.29Δ) for $2.20 means assignment would leave a cost basis of $74.80, 8.6% below the $81.84 close.
The 64-day 0.30Δ put pays 1.3× the premium of the 36-day one for 1.8× the time — more premium per day on the 36-day contract ($0.061 vs $0.044).
At 0.30Δ on the Dec 18 expiry the put yields 2.86% on its strike and the call 2.65% on spot: puts and calls pay within 10% of each other on GDX this session.
Moving down to the $74 put (−0.21Δ) buys 3.7% more room below spot and keeps 63% of the 0.30Δ premium.
Open interest in the stored window totals 549,922 contracts; the largest single line is the $80 put expiring Jan 15 with 99,962 (18.2% of the window).
By options volume GDX ranks #110 of 679 names in our universe.
Near-the-money options volume (19k) is 2109% above its 5-session average.
The builder re-quotes every leg from the live chain when it opens; tracking is free to start.
Cash-secured puts on GDX
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Cash secured | Period yield | Annualized | Breakeven | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $77 | −0.29 | $2.20 Nov 12 | $220.00 | $7,700 | 2.86% | 29.0% | $74.80 | 616 | 139 |
| 0.20Δ | $74 | −0.21 | $1.38 Nov 12 | $138.00 | $7,400 | 1.86% | 18.9% | $72.62 | 3,734 | 56 |
Snapshot #9379 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:10 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ strike · annualized = yield × 365 ÷ 36
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Cash secured | Period yield | Annualized | Breakeven | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $76 | −0.30 | $2.80 Nov 12 | $280.00 | $7,600 | 3.68% | 21.0% | $73.20 | 3,223 | 6 |
| 0.20Δ | $72 | −0.21 | $1.71 Nov 12 | $171.00 | $7,200 | 2.38% | 13.5% | $70.29 | 1,919 | 27 |
Snapshot #9379 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:10 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ strike · annualized = yield × 365 ÷ 64
Covered calls on GDX
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Yield on spot | Annualized | If called | If called, ann. | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $89 | 0.30 | $2.17 Nov 12 | $217.00 | 2.65% | 26.9% | 11.40% | 115.6% | 706 | 30 |
| 0.20Δ | $93 | 0.20 | $1.24 Nov 12 | $124.00 | 1.52% | 15.4% | 15.15% | 153.6% | 357 | 21 |
Snapshot #9379 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:10 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ spot · if called = (premium + strike − spot) ÷ spot · annualized × 365 ÷ 36
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Yield on spot | Annualized | If called | If called, ann. | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $91 | 0.30 | $2.65 Nov 12 | $265.00 | 3.24% | 18.5% | 14.43% | 82.3% | 782 | 39 |
| 0.20Δ | $98 | 0.18 | $1.35 Nov 12 | $135.00 | 1.65% | 9.4% | 21.40% | 122.0% | 2,955 | 1 |
Snapshot #9379 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:10 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ spot · if called = (premium + strike − spot) ÷ spot · annualized × 365 ÷ 64
GDX volatility, dividends and liquidity
- Implied volatility (ATM, ≈30 days)
- 42.4%session 2026-11-12
- IV rank / IV percentile
- Unavailable1
- Next earnings
- Unavailable2
- Next ex-dividend
- None announcedchecked Nov 9, 2026
- Open interest, stored window
- 549,922 contractssession 2026-11-12
- Largest open-interest line
- $80 put · Jan 15 · 99,962
- Bid/ask spread
- Unavailable3
- Options liquidity rank
- #110 of 679 optionable names by options volume
How these numbers are made
One end-of-day snapshot per session from a 15-minute-delayed feed. A premium is a contract’s last trade, used only if it printed that session, sits above intrinsic value and is in order with its neighbours; deltas are the feed’s own. Expiries are the first at least 30 and 60 days out, and nothing under 30 days is annualized. Not investment advice. Full methodology.
- We are building our own daily implied-volatility history (34 of 252 sessions so far); IV rank and percentile need a full year of it.
- Our data provider does not license announced earnings dates, and we do not publish estimates.
- Our data feed carries last trades, not live bid/ask quotes, so we cannot show a spread.