How are CENX 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 CENX covered call priced from the November 13, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 60.00%), the computed maximum profit is $322.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$3,176.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a CENX covered call?

The breakeven for the CENX covered call priced on this page is roughly $31.78 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 CENX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 17.20%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current CENX implied volatility affect this covered call?

CENX ATM IV is at 60.00% with IV rank near 34.27%, 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.

CENX Covered Call Strategy

CENX (Century Aluminum Company), in the Basic Materials sector, (Aluminum industry), listed on NASDAQ.

Century Aluminum Company, along with its associated entities, manufactures both standard and specialized primary aluminum products across the United States and Iceland. The firm also possesses and manages a facility dedicated to carbon anode production, situated in the Netherlands. Founded in 1981, the company's corporate headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois.

CENX (Century Aluminum Company) trades in the Basic Materials sector, specifically Aluminum, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.37B, a trailing P/E of 3.78, a beta of 2.18 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 25.4-70.43, average daily share volume of 2.0M, a public-listing history dating back to 1996, approximately 3K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CENX stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 2.18 indicates CENX 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 3.78 is on the value side, where IV often compresses outside event windows because forward growth expectations are already discounted into the share price.

What is a covered call on CENX?

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.

CENX snapshot

As of November 13, 2026, spot at $33.95, ATM IV 60.00%, IV rank 34.27%, expected move 17.20%. The covered call on CENX 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 35-day expiry.

Why this covered call structure on CENX specifically: CENX IV at 60.00% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so the credit collected on a CENX covered call sits in line with its long-run distribution, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 17.20% (roughly $5.84 on the underlying). The 35-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated CENX expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CENX should anchor to the underlying notional of $33.95 per share and to the trader's directional view on CENX stock.

CENX covered call setup

The CENX 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 CENX at $33.95 on that close, the first option leg uses a $35.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CENX chain at a 35-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 CENX shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 100 shares	Stock	$33.95	long
Sell 1	Call	$35.00	$2.18

CENX covered call risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$3,177.50
Max Profit (per contract): $322.50
Max Loss (per contract): -$3,176.50
Breakeven(s): $31.78
Risk / Reward Ratio: 0.102

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.

CENX covered call payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the covered call on CENX. 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.

P&L at expiration across the modeled underlying-price range. Green shading marks profitable regions, red shading marks loss regions. Dotted purple verticals mark breakevens; the solid dark vertical marks current spot.

Underlying Price	% From Spot	P&L at Expiration
$0.01	-100.0%	-$3,176.50
$7.52	-77.9%	-$2,425.96
$15.02	-55.8%	-$1,675.41
$22.53	-33.6%	-$924.87
$30.03	-11.5%	-$174.33
$37.54	+10.6%	+$322.50
$45.04	+32.7%	+$322.50
$52.55	+54.8%	+$322.50
$60.05	+76.9%	+$322.50
$67.56	+99.0%	+$322.50

When traders use covered call on CENX

Covered calls on CENX are an income strategy run on existing CENX stock positions; traders typically sell calls at 25-35 delta with 30-45 days to expiration to balance premium against upside cap.

CENX thesis for this covered call

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CENX extends from approximately $28.11 on the downside to $39.79 on the upside. A CENX covered call collects premium on an existing long CENX position, trading off upside above the short call strike for immediate income; the short strike selection should reflect the trader's view on whether CENX will breach that level within the expiration window. Current CENX IV rank near 34.27% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the covered call thesis on CENX should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Basic Materials name, CENX options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CENX-specific events.

CENX 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. CENX positions also carry Basic Materials sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CENX alongside the broader basket even when CENX-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a covered call on CENX carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical CENX earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current CENX chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a covered call on CENX?: A covered call on CENX is the covered call strategy applied to CENX (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 CENX stock at $33.95 on the November 13, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CENX chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
How are CENX 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 CENX covered call priced from the November 13, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 60.00%), the computed maximum profit is $322.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$3,176.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a CENX covered call?: The breakeven for the CENX covered call priced on this page is roughly $31.78 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 CENX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 17.20%; 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 CENX?: Covered calls on CENX are an income strategy run on existing CENX 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 CENX implied volatility affect this covered call?: CENX ATM IV is at 60.00% with IV rank near 34.27%, 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.