ACLS Cash-Secured Put Strategy
ACLS (Axcelis Technologies, Inc.), in the Technology sector, (Semiconductors industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Axcelis Technologies, Inc. is a company dedicated to the creation, production, and maintenance of specialized ion implantation and other essential processing machinery used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips. Operating internationally, its presence extends across North America, Europe, and Asia. The firm offers a wide array of implanter technologies, such as high-energy, high-current, and medium-current systems, designed to meet diverse application needs. Furthermore, Axcelis provides extensive post-sales support and lifecycle solutions, including the sale of pre-owned equipment, replacement parts, system upgrades, ongoing maintenance, and client instruction. It directly furnishes its advanced equipment and services to microchip manufacturers through its own dedicated sales personnel. Founded in 1978, Axcelis Technologies has its corporate headquarters situated in Beverly, Massachusetts.
ACLS (Axcelis Technologies, Inc.) trades in the Technology sector, specifically Semiconductors, with a market capitalization of approximately $5.32B, a trailing P/E of 52.76, a beta of 1.92 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 65.64-193.78, average daily share volume of 682K, a public-listing history dating back to 2000, approximately 2K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how ACLS stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.92 indicates ACLS has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. The trailing P/E of 52.76 is on the rich side, which tends to correlate with higher earnings-window IV expansion as the market debates whether forward growth supports the multiple.
What is a cash-secured put on ACLS?
A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike.
Current ACLS snapshot
As of June 30, 2026, spot at $189.12, ATM IV 87.40%, IV rank 73.81%, expected move 25.06%. The cash-secured put on ACLS below is built from the same end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 17-day expiry.
Why this cash-secured put structure on ACLS specifically: ACLS IV at 87.40% is rich versus its 1-year range, which favors premium-selling structures like a ACLS cash-secured put, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 25.06% (roughly $47.39 on the underlying). The 17-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated ACLS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on ACLS should anchor to the underlying notional of $189.12 per share and to the trader's directional view on ACLS stock.
ACLS cash-secured put setup
The ACLS cash-secured put below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With ACLS near $189.12, the first option leg uses a $180.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed ACLS chain at a 17-day expiry; the cross-strike IV skew is reflected directly in the per-leg values rather than approximated. Quantity sizing assumes one contract per option leg (or 100 ACLS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Put | $180.00 | $9.70 |
ACLS cash-secured put risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$970.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $970.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$17,029.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $170.30
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.057
Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.
ACLS cash-secured put payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put on ACLS. Each row is one sampled price point from the computed payoff curve; the full curve uses 200 price points internally before being summarized into 10 rows here.
| Underlying Price | % From Spot | P&L at Expiration |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01 | -100.0% | -$17,029.00 |
| $41.82 | -77.9% | -$12,847.56 |
| $83.64 | -55.8% | -$8,666.13 |
| $125.45 | -33.7% | -$4,484.69 |
| $167.27 | -11.6% | -$303.25 |
| $209.08 | +10.6% | +$970.00 |
| $250.90 | +32.7% | +$970.00 |
| $292.71 | +54.8% | +$970.00 |
| $334.52 | +76.9% | +$970.00 |
| $376.34 | +99.0% | +$970.00 |
When traders use cash-secured put on ACLS
Cash-secured puts on ACLS earn premium while a trader waits to acquire ACLS stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning ACLS.
ACLS thesis for this cash-secured put
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ACLS extends from approximately $141.73 on the downside to $236.51 on the upside. A ACLS cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire ACLS at the strike price; the strategy is most attractive when the trader is comfortable holding the underlying at that level and IV is rich enough to compensate for the assignment risk. Current ACLS IV rank near 73.81% sits in the upper third of its 1-year distribution, which historically reverts; this raises the bar for premium-buying structures and lowers it for premium-selling structures on ACLS at 87.40%. As a Technology name, ACLS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to ACLS-specific events.
ACLS cash-secured put positions are structurally neutral to slightly bullish; the modeled P&L assumes European-style exercise at expiration and ignores early assignment, transaction costs, dividends paid before expiry on the stock leg (when present), and the bid-ask spread on the listed chain. ACLS positions also carry Technology sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move ACLS alongside the broader basket even when ACLS-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on ACLS carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical ACLS earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current ACLS chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a cash-secured put on ACLS?
- A cash-secured put on ACLS is the cash-secured put strategy applied to ACLS (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral to slightly bullish: A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike. With ACLS stock trading near $189.12, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed ACLS chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are ACLS cash-secured put max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium. For the ACLS cash-secured put priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 87.40%), the computed maximum profit is $970.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$17,029.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a ACLS cash-secured put?
- The breakeven for the ACLS cash-secured put priced on this page is roughly $170.30 at expiration, derived from end-of-day chain premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The current ACLS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 25.06%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a cash-secured put on ACLS?
- Cash-secured puts on ACLS earn premium while a trader waits to acquire ACLS stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning ACLS.
- How does current ACLS implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
- ACLS ATM IV is at 87.40% with IV rank near 73.81%, which is elevated relative to its 1-year range. Premium-selling structures (covered call, cash-secured put, iron condor) generally look more attractive when IV rank is high; premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are more expensive in that regime.