CDNA Covered Call Strategy
CDNA (CareDx, Inc), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Diagnostics & Research industry), listed on NASDAQ.
CareDx, Inc. is a global innovator specializing in the discovery, development, and commercialization of diagnostic and management tools designed for transplant recipients and their healthcare providers. The company's extensive portfolio features a range of specialized diagnostic solutions for organ monitoring, including: AlloSure Kidney, AlloSure Heart, and AlloSure Lung: Advanced tests employing donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) technology to assess the health of kidney, heart, and lung transplants, respectively. AlloMap Heart: A gene expression-based solution specifically for heart transplant patients. AlloSeq cfDNA: A broader surveillance tool to measure dd-cfDNA levels in the blood. CareDx also provides cutting-edge human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing technologies, such as TruSight HLA, an NGS-based high-resolution typing solution; Olerup SSP, which uses sequence-specific primer technology for HLA allele typing; QTYPE for precise HLA typing; and AlloSeq Tx, another high-resolution HLA typing offering. For stem cell transplant recipients, the company offers AlloSeq HCT for chimerism testing.
CDNA (CareDx, Inc) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Diagnostics & Research, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.09B, a trailing P/E of 31.55, a beta of 2.49 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 15.15-90.87, average daily share volume of 1.3M, a public-listing history dating back to 2014, approximately 763 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CDNA stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 2.49 indicates CDNA 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 covered call on CDNA?
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.
CDNA snapshot
As of November 13, 2026, spot at $78.66, ATM IV 58.30%, IV rank 7.18%, expected move 16.71%. The covered call on CDNA below is built from the November 13, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 7-day expiry.
Why this covered call structure on CDNA specifically: CDNA IV at 58.30% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling CDNA covered call collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 16.71% (roughly $13.15 on the underlying). The 7-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated CDNA expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CDNA should anchor to the underlying notional of $78.66 per share and to the trader's directional view on CDNA stock.
CDNA covered call setup
The CDNA covered call below is built from the November 13, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With CDNA at $78.66 on that close, the first option leg uses a $85.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CDNA chain at a 7-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 CDNA shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $78.66 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $85.00 | $0.78 |
CDNA covered call risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$7,788.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $711.50
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$7,787.50
- Breakeven(s)
- $77.89
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.091
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.
CDNA covered call payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the covered call on CDNA. 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% | -$7,787.50 |
| $17.40 | -77.9% | -$6,048.39 |
| $34.79 | -55.8% | -$4,309.29 |
| $52.18 | -33.7% | -$2,570.18 |
| $69.57 | -11.6% | -$831.08 |
| $86.97 | +10.6% | +$711.50 |
| $104.36 | +32.7% | +$711.50 |
| $121.75 | +54.8% | +$711.50 |
| $139.14 | +76.9% | +$711.50 |
| $156.53 | +99.0% | +$711.50 |
When traders use covered call on CDNA
Covered calls on CDNA are an income strategy run on existing CDNA stock positions; traders typically sell calls at 25-35 delta with 30-45 days to expiration to balance premium against upside cap.
CDNA thesis for this covered call
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CDNA extends from approximately $65.51 on the downside to $91.81 on the upside. A CDNA covered call collects premium on an existing long CDNA position, trading off upside above the short call strike for immediate income; the short strike selection should reflect the trader's view on whether CDNA will breach that level within the expiration window. Current CDNA IV rank near 7.18% sits in the lower third of its 1-year distribution, where IV often re-expands toward the mean; this favors premium-buying structures and disadvantages premium-selling structures on CDNA at 58.30%. As a Healthcare name, CDNA options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CDNA-specific events.
CDNA 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. CDNA positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CDNA alongside the broader basket even when CDNA-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a covered call on CDNA carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical CDNA earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current CDNA chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a covered call on CDNA?
- A covered call on CDNA is the covered call strategy applied to CDNA (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 CDNA stock at $78.66 on the November 13, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CDNA chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CDNA 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 CDNA covered call priced from the November 13, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 58.30%), the computed maximum profit is $711.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$7,787.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a CDNA covered call?
- The breakeven for the CDNA covered call priced on this page is roughly $77.89 at expiration, derived from the November 13, 2026 end-of-day chain's premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The CDNA market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 16.71%; 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 CDNA?
- Covered calls on CDNA are an income strategy run on existing CDNA 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 CDNA implied volatility affect this covered call?
- CDNA ATM IV is at 58.30% with IV rank near 7.18%, which is on the low end of its 1-year range. Premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are relatively cheap in this regime; premium-selling structures collect less credit per unit risk.