CVU Cash-Secured Put Strategy
CVU (CPI Aerostructures, Inc.), in the Industrials sector, (Aerospace & Defense industry), listed on AMEX.
CPI Aerostructures, Inc. engages in the contract production of structural aircraft parts for fixed wing aircraft and helicopters in the commercial and defense markets. The company also offers aero systems, such as reconnaissance pod structures and fuel panel systems; and supplies parts for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), as well as kitting contracts. In addition, it operates as a subcontractor for defense contractors and commercial contractors, as well as a contractor for the United States Department of Defense. Further, the company offers engineering, program management, supply chain management, kitting, and MRO services. Additionally, it offers machine gunner window assemblies, hover infrared suppression system module assemblies, wing sets and spares kits, lock assemblies, canopy activation drive shaft assemblies, rudder island and drag chute canister assemblies, composite electronics racks, structural wing components, fixed leading edges, and engine inlet assemblies. The company was formerly known as Consortium of Precision Industries, Inc. and changed its name to CPI Aerostructures, Inc. in July 1992.
CVU (CPI Aerostructures, Inc.) trades in the Industrials sector, specifically Aerospace & Defense, with a market capitalization of approximately $49.5M, a beta of 0.87 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 2.02-5.4, average daily share volume of 102K, a public-listing history dating back to 1992, approximately 212 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CVU stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.87 places CVU roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline.
What is a cash-secured put on CVU?
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 CVU snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $3.68, ATM IV 122.50%, IV rank 27.40%, expected move 35.12%. The cash-secured put on CVU 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 cash-secured put structure on CVU specifically: CVU IV at 122.50% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling CVU cash-secured put collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 35.12% (roughly $1.29 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 CVU expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CVU should anchor to the underlying notional of $3.68 per share and to the trader's directional view on CVU stock.
CVU cash-secured put setup
The CVU 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 CVU near $3.68, the first option leg uses a $3.50 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CVU 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 CVU shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Put | $3.50 | N/A |
CVU cash-secured put risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- N/A
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Breakeven(s)
- None on modeled curve
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- N/A
Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.
CVU cash-secured put payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put on CVU. 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.
When traders use cash-secured put on CVU
Cash-secured puts on CVU earn premium while a trader waits to acquire CVU stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning CVU.
CVU thesis for this cash-secured put
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CVU extends from approximately $2.39 on the downside to $4.97 on the upside. A CVU cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire CVU 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 CVU IV rank near 27.40% 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 CVU at 122.50%. As a Industrials name, CVU options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CVU-specific events.
CVU 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. CVU positions also carry Industrials sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CVU alongside the broader basket even when CVU-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on CVU carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical CVU earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current CVU chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a cash-secured put on CVU?
- A cash-secured put on CVU is the cash-secured put strategy applied to CVU (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 CVU stock trading near $3.68, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CVU chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CVU 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 CVU cash-secured put priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 122.50%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is unbounded per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a CVU cash-secured put?
- The breakeven for the CVU cash-secured put priced on this page is no defined breakeven on the modeled curve 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 CVU market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 35.12%; 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 CVU?
- Cash-secured puts on CVU earn premium while a trader waits to acquire CVU stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning CVU.
- How does current CVU implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
- CVU ATM IV is at 122.50% with IV rank near 27.40%, 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.