ACLS Covered Call Strategy
ACLS (Axcelis Technologies, Inc.), in the Technology sector, (Semiconductors industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Axcelis Technologies, Inc. designs, manufactures, and services ion implantation and other processing equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company offers high energy, high current, and medium current implanters for various application requirements. It also provides aftermarket lifecycle products and services, including used tools, spare parts, equipment upgrades, maintenance services, and customer training. It sells its equipment and services to semiconductor chip manufacturers through its direct sales force. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts.
ACLS (Axcelis Technologies, Inc.) trades in the Technology sector, specifically Semiconductors, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.98B, a trailing P/E of 49.39, a beta of 1.92 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 55.93-171.61, average daily share volume of 885K, 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 49.39 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 covered call on ACLS?
A covered call pairs long stock with a short out-of-the-money call, collecting premium and capping upside above the short strike in exchange for income.
Current ACLS snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $155.50, ATM IV 68.70%, IV rank 43.96%, expected move 19.70%. The covered call 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 34-day expiry.
Why this covered call structure on ACLS specifically: ACLS IV at 68.70% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so the credit collected on a ACLS covered call sits in line with its long-run distribution, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 19.70% (roughly $30.63 on the underlying). The 34-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 $155.50 per share and to the trader's directional view on ACLS stock.
ACLS covered call setup
The ACLS covered call 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 $155.50, the first option leg uses a $165.00 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 34-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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $155.50 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $165.00 | $9.20 |
ACLS covered call risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$14,630.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $1,870.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$14,629.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $146.30
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.128
Max profit equals short-strike minus cost basis plus premium times 100; max loss is cost basis minus premium (at zero). Breakeven is cost basis minus premium.
ACLS covered call payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the covered call 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% | -$14,629.00 |
| $34.39 | -77.9% | -$11,190.92 |
| $68.77 | -55.8% | -$7,752.84 |
| $103.15 | -33.7% | -$4,314.76 |
| $137.53 | -11.6% | -$876.68 |
| $171.91 | +10.6% | +$1,870.00 |
| $206.29 | +32.7% | +$1,870.00 |
| $240.68 | +54.8% | +$1,870.00 |
| $275.06 | +76.9% | +$1,870.00 |
| $309.44 | +99.0% | +$1,870.00 |
When traders use covered call on ACLS
Covered calls on ACLS are an income strategy run on existing ACLS stock positions; traders typically sell calls at 25-35 delta with 30-45 days to expiration to balance premium against upside cap.
ACLS thesis for this covered call
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ACLS extends from approximately $124.87 on the downside to $186.13 on the upside. A ACLS covered call collects premium on an existing long ACLS position, trading off upside above the short call strike for immediate income; the short strike selection should reflect the trader's view on whether ACLS will breach that level within the expiration window. Current ACLS IV rank near 43.96% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the covered call thesis on ACLS should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. 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 covered call 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 covered call 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 covered call on ACLS?
- A covered call on ACLS is the covered call strategy applied to ACLS (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral to slightly bullish: A covered call pairs long stock with a short out-of-the-money call, collecting premium and capping upside above the short strike in exchange for income. With ACLS stock trading near $155.50, 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 covered call max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals short-strike minus cost basis plus premium times 100; max loss is cost basis minus premium (at zero). Breakeven is cost basis minus premium. For the ACLS covered call priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 68.70%), the computed maximum profit is $1,870.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$14,629.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a ACLS covered call?
- The breakeven for the ACLS covered call priced on this page is roughly $146.30 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 19.70%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a covered call on ACLS?
- Covered calls on ACLS are an income strategy run on existing ACLS stock positions; traders typically sell calls at 25-35 delta with 30-45 days to expiration to balance premium against upside cap.
- How does current ACLS implied volatility affect this covered call?
- ACLS ATM IV is at 68.70% with IV rank near 43.96%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.