VST wheel: cash-secured put & covered-call yields
Vistra Corp. · Utilities · $134.51 close on Nov 12, 2026
What the Nov 12, 2026 close says about VST
At 47.5% implied volatility, the options market is pricing a one-standard-deviation move of about $20.08 (14.9%) in VST by Dec 18, 2026, 36 days out.
Selling the $125 put (−0.28Δ) for $3.95 means assignment would leave a cost basis of $121.05, 10.0% below the $134.51 close.
The 64-day 0.30Δ put pays 1.4× the premium of the 36-day one for 1.8× the time — more premium per day on the 36-day contract ($0.110 vs $0.087).
At 0.30Δ on the Dec 18 expiry the put yields 3.16% on its strike and the call 2.85% on spot: puts pay 1.1× what calls do on VST this session.
Moving down to the $120 put (−0.20Δ) buys 3.7% more room below spot and keeps 65% of the 0.30Δ premium.
Open interest in the stored window totals 81,141 contracts; the largest single line is the $120 put expiring Jan 15 with 8,274 (10.2% of the window).
By options volume VST ranks #184 of 679 names in our universe.
Near-the-money options volume (1.3k) is 737% 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 VST
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Cash secured | Period yield | Annualized | Breakeven | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $125 | −0.28 | $3.95 Nov 12 | $395.00 | $12,500 | 3.16% | 32.0% | $121.05 | 3,058 | 57 |
| 0.20Δ | $120 | −0.20 | $2.56 Nov 12 | $256.00 | $12,000 | 2.13% | 21.6% | $117.44 | 2,264 | 258 |
Snapshot #9546 · 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 | $125 | −0.31 | $5.55 Nov 12 | $555.00 | $12,500 | 4.44% | 25.3% | $119.45 | 3,720 | 2 |
| 0.20Δ | $115 | −0.18 | $2.87 Nov 12 | $287.00 | $11,500 | 2.50% | 14.2% | $112.13 | 1,843 | 6 |
Snapshot #9546 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:21 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ strike · annualized = yield × 365 ÷ 64
Covered calls on VST
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Yield on spot | Annualized | If called | If called, ann. | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $145 | 0.33 | $3.84 Nov 12 | $384.00 | 2.85% | 28.9% | 10.65% | 108.0% | 1,760 | 72 |
| 0.20Δ | $155 | 0.18 | $1.68 Nov 12 | $168.00 | 1.25% | 12.7% | 16.48% | 167.1% | 1,731 | 52 |
Snapshot #9546 · 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 | $150 | 0.32 | $4.83 Nov 12 | $483.00 | 3.59% | 20.5% | 15.11% | 86.2% | 7,145 | 254 |
| 0.20Δ | $160 | 0.21 | $2.65 Nov 12 | $265.00 | 1.97% | 11.2% | 20.92% | 119.3% | 2,349 | 138 |
Snapshot #9546 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:21 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ spot · if called = (premium + strike − spot) ÷ spot · annualized × 365 ÷ 64
VST volatility, dividends and liquidity
- Implied volatility (ATM, ≈30 days)
- 47.5%session 2026-11-12
- IV rank / IV percentile
- Unavailable1
- Next earnings
- Unavailable2
- Next ex-dividend
- Ex-div Dec 22, 2026 · $0.23 declaredchecked Nov 9, 2026
- Open interest, stored window
- 81,141 contractssession 2026-11-12
- Largest open-interest line
- $120 put · Jan 15 · 8,274
- Bid/ask spread
- Unavailable3
- Options liquidity rank
- #184 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.