AI Cash-Secured Put Strategy
AI (C3.ai, Inc.), in the Technology sector, (Information Technology Services industry), listed on NYSE.
C3.ai, Inc. is a leading provider of enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) software solutions, serving a global clientele across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. Its core offerings include the C3 AI Application Platform, a robust environment for developing, deploying, and operating enterprise-scale AI applications. Complementing this platform are specialized tools such as C3 AI Ex Machina for preparing data for analysis, C3 AI CRM which is tailored for specific industry customer relationship management needs, and C3 AI Data Vision for insightful visualization and understanding of complex data relationships. Furthermore, C3.ai delivers a comprehensive portfolio of pre-built, industry-specific AI applications designed to tackle critical business challenges. These include solutions for optimizing inventory levels (C3 AI Inventory Optimization), mitigating supply chain disruptions (C3 AI Supply Network Risk), proactively managing customer attrition (C3 AI Customer Churn Management), streamlining production schedules (C3 AI Production Schedule Optimization), forecasting equipment failures (C3 AI Predictive Maintenance), identifying financial irregularities (C3 AI Fraud Detection), and optimizing energy consumption (C3 AI Energy Management). These integrated, turnkey AI applications cater to a wide array of market segments, including oil and gas, chemicals, utilities, manufacturing, financial services, defense, intelligence, aerospace, healthcare, and telecommunications.
AI (C3.ai, Inc.) trades in the Technology sector, specifically Information Technology Services, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.26B, a beta of 2.03 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 7.675-30.11, average daily share volume of 6.0M, a public-listing history dating back to 2020, approximately 891 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how AI stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 2.03 indicates AI has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position.
What is a cash-secured put on AI?
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 AI snapshot
As of June 30, 2026, spot at $9.11, ATM IV 68.05%, IV rank 33.42%, expected move 19.51%. The cash-secured put on AI 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 31-day expiry.
Why this cash-secured put structure on AI specifically: AI IV at 68.05% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so the credit collected on a AI cash-secured put sits in line with its long-run distribution, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 19.51% (roughly $1.78 on the underlying). The 31-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated AI expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on AI should anchor to the underlying notional of $9.11 per share and to the trader's directional view on AI stock.
AI cash-secured put setup
The AI 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 AI near $9.11, the first option leg uses a $8.50 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed AI chain at a 31-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 AI shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Put | $8.50 | $0.42 |
AI cash-secured put risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$41.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $41.50
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$807.50
- Breakeven(s)
- $8.09
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.051
Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.
AI cash-secured put payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put on AI. 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 | -99.9% | -$807.50 |
| $2.02 | -77.8% | -$606.18 |
| $4.04 | -55.7% | -$404.87 |
| $6.05 | -33.6% | -$203.55 |
| $8.06 | -11.5% | -$2.23 |
| $10.08 | +10.6% | +$41.50 |
| $12.09 | +32.7% | +$41.50 |
| $14.10 | +54.8% | +$41.50 |
| $16.12 | +76.9% | +$41.50 |
| $18.13 | +99.0% | +$41.50 |
When traders use cash-secured put on AI
Cash-secured puts on AI earn premium while a trader waits to acquire AI stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning AI.
AI thesis for this cash-secured put
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for AI extends from approximately $7.33 on the downside to $10.89 on the upside. A AI cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire AI 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 AI IV rank near 33.42% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the cash-secured put thesis on AI should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Technology name, AI options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to AI-specific events.
AI 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. AI positions also carry Technology sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move AI alongside the broader basket even when AI-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on AI carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical AI earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current AI chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a cash-secured put on AI?
- A cash-secured put on AI is the cash-secured put strategy applied to AI (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 AI stock trading near $9.11, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed AI chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are AI 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 AI cash-secured put priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 68.05%), the computed maximum profit is $41.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$807.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a AI cash-secured put?
- The breakeven for the AI cash-secured put priced on this page is roughly $8.09 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 AI market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 19.51%; 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 AI?
- Cash-secured puts on AI earn premium while a trader waits to acquire AI stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning AI.
- How does current AI implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
- AI ATM IV is at 68.05% with IV rank near 33.42%, 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.