VST wheel: cash-secured put & covered-call yields
Vistra Corp. · Utilities · $138.02 close on Sep 28, 2026
What the Sep 28, 2026 close says about VST
At 41.3% implied volatility, the options market is pricing a one-standard-deviation move of about $16.86 (12.2%) in VST by Oct 30, 2026, 32 days out.
Selling the $130 put (−0.28Δ) for $3.20 means assignment would leave a cost basis of $126.80, 8.1% below the $138.02 close.
The 81-day 0.30Δ put pays 1.6× the premium of the 32-day one for 2.5× the time — more premium per day on the 32-day contract ($0.100 vs $0.065).
At 0.30Δ on the Oct 30 expiry the put yields 2.46% on its strike and the call 2.16% on spot: puts pay 1.1× what calls do on VST this session.
Moving down to the $125 put (−0.19Δ) buys 3.6% more room below spot and keeps 58% of the 0.30Δ premium.
Open interest in the stored window totals 41,765 contracts; the largest single line is the $170 call expiring Dec 18 with 16,395 (39.3% of the window).
By options volume VST ranks #141 of 441 names in our universe.
The builder re-quotes every leg from the live chain when it opens; tracking is free to start.
Cash-secured puts on VST
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Cash secured | Period yield | Annualized | Breakeven | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $130 | −0.28 | $3.20 Sep 28 | $320.00 | $13,000 | 2.46% | 28.1% | $126.80 | 644 | 38 |
| 0.20Δ | $125 | −0.19 | $1.85 Sep 28 | $185.00 | $12,500 | 1.48% | 16.9% | $123.15 | 303 | 105 |
Snapshot #274 · session 2026-09-28 · captured 22:50 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ strike · annualized = yield × 365 ÷ 32
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Cash secured | Period yield | Annualized | Breakeven | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $125 | −0.27 | $5.25 Sep 28 | $525.00 | $12,500 | 4.20% | 18.9% | $119.75 | 3,368 | 32 |
| 0.20Δ | $120 | −0.21 | $4.00 Sep 28 | $400.00 | $12,000 | 3.33% | 15.0% | $116.00 | 1,602 | 7 |
Snapshot #274 · session 2026-09-28 · captured 22:50 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ strike · annualized = yield × 365 ÷ 81
Covered calls on VST
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Yield on spot | Annualized | If called | If called, ann. | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $150 | 0.29 | $2.98 Sep 28 | $298.00 | 2.16% | 24.6% | 10.84% | 123.6% | 214 | 93 |
| 0.20Δ | $155 | 0.21 | $1.92 Sep 28 | $192.00 | 1.39% | 15.9% | 13.69% | 156.2% | 115 | 22 |
Snapshot #274 · session 2026-09-28 · captured 22:50 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ spot · if called = (premium + strike − spot) ÷ spot · annualized × 365 ÷ 32
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Yield on spot | Annualized | If called | If called, ann. | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $160 | 0.30 | $5.15 Sep 28 | $515.00 | 3.73% | 16.8% | 19.66% | 88.6% | 2,420 | 58 |
| 0.20Δ | $170 | 0.21 | $3.50 Sep 28 | $350.00 | 2.54% | 11.4% | 25.71% | 115.8% | 16,395 | 108 |
Snapshot #274 · session 2026-09-28 · captured 22:50 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ spot · if called = (premium + strike − spot) ÷ spot · annualized × 365 ÷ 81
VST volatility, dividends and liquidity
- Implied volatility (ATM, ≈30 days)
- 41.3%session 2026-09-28
- IV rank / IV percentile
- Unavailable1
- Next earnings
- Unavailable2
- Next ex-dividend
- None announcedchecked Sep 28, 2026
- Open interest, stored window
- 41,765 contractssession 2026-09-28
- Largest open-interest line
- $170 call · Dec 18 · 16,395
- Bid/ask spread
- Unavailable3
- Options liquidity rank
- #141 of 441 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 (1 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.