SMH wheel: cash-secured put & covered-call yields
VanEck Semiconductor ETF · ETFs · $501.73 close on Nov 12, 2026
What the Nov 12, 2026 close says about SMH
At 45.4% implied volatility, the options market is pricing a one-standard-deviation move of about $71.57 (14.3%) in SMH by Dec 18, 2026, 36 days out.
Selling the $475 put (−0.31Δ) for $17.95 means assignment would leave a cost basis of $457.05, 8.9% below the $501.73 close.
The 64-day 0.30Δ put pays 1.2× the premium of the 36-day one for 1.8× the time — more premium per day on the 36-day contract ($0.499 vs $0.323).
At 0.30Δ on the Dec 18 expiry the put yields 3.78% on its strike and the call 2.45% on spot: puts pay 1.5× what calls do on SMH this session.
Moving down to the $450 put (−0.20Δ) buys 5.0% more room below spot and keeps 55% of the 0.30Δ premium.
Open interest in the stored window totals 286,922 contracts; the largest single line is the $400 put expiring Jan 15 with 41,420 (14.4% of the window).
By options volume SMH ranks #50 of 679 names in our universe.
Near-the-money options volume (20k) is 1979% 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 SMH
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Cash secured | Period yield | Annualized | Breakeven | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $475 | −0.31 | $17.95 Nov 12 | $1,795.00 | $47,500 | 3.78% | 38.3% | $457.05 | 3,004 | 147 |
| 0.20Δ | $450 | −0.20 | $9.92 Nov 12 | $992.00 | $45,000 | 2.20% | 22.4% | $440.08 | 19,310 | 5,699 |
Snapshot #9503 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:21 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 | $465 | −0.29 | $20.65 Nov 12 | $2,065.00 | $46,500 | 4.44% | 25.3% | $444.35 | 302 | 23 |
| 0.20Δ | $435 | −0.19 | $12.80 Nov 12 | $1,280.00 | $43,500 | 2.94% | 16.8% | $422.20 | 349 | 9 |
Snapshot #9503 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:21 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ strike · annualized = yield × 365 ÷ 64
Covered calls on SMH
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Yield on spot | Annualized | If called | If called, ann. | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $545 | 0.31 | $12.30 Nov 12 | $1,230.00 | 2.45% | 24.9% | 11.08% | 112.3% | 968 | 16 |
| 0.20Δ | $570 | 0.20 | $6.20 Nov 12 | $620.00 | 1.24% | 12.5% | 14.84% | 150.5% | 2,338 | 41 |
Snapshot #9503 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:21 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 | $560 | 0.30 | $14.23 Nov 12 | $1,423.00 | 2.84% | 16.2% | 14.45% | 82.4% | 3,256 | 76 |
| 0.20Δ | $585 | 0.21 | $9.05 Nov 12 | $905.00 | 1.80% | 10.3% | 18.40% | 104.9% | 646 | 8 |
Snapshot #9503 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:21 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ spot · if called = (premium + strike − spot) ÷ spot · annualized × 365 ÷ 64
SMH volatility, dividends and liquidity
- Implied volatility (ATM, ≈30 days)
- 45.4%session 2026-11-12
- IV rank / IV percentile
- Unavailable1
- Next earnings
- Unavailable2
- Next ex-dividend
- None announcedchecked Nov 9, 2026
- Open interest, stored window
- 286,922 contractssession 2026-11-12
- Largest open-interest line
- $400 put · Jan 15 · 41,420
- Bid/ask spread
- Unavailable3
- Options liquidity rank
- #50 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.