ISRG Covered Call Strategy
ISRG (Intuitive Surgical, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Devices industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. is a leading medical technology firm dedicated to advancing patient care by developing, producing, and commercializing sophisticated tools. These innovations empower medical professionals to deliver superior, accessible, and less-invasive treatment options to patients both within the United States and across international markets. Its flagship offering, the da Vinci Surgical System, facilitates intricate operations through a minimally disruptive approach. Expanding beyond surgical applications, the company also provides the Ion endoluminal system, designed for diagnostic interventions like minimally invasive lung biopsies. Complementing its primary systems, Intuitive Surgical supplies a comprehensive array of instruments, including stapling tools, energy devices, and essential core components. Furthermore, it offers structured training programs to ensure proficient use of its technology, alongside extensive customer support services encompassing installation, repairs, and ongoing maintenance.
ISRG (Intuitive Surgical, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Devices, with a market capitalization of approximately $143.18B, a trailing P/E of 48.16, a beta of 1.45 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 396.68-603.88, average daily share volume of 2.3M, a public-listing history dating back to 2000, approximately 16K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how ISRG stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.45 indicates ISRG 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 48.16 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 ISRG?
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 ISRG snapshot
As of June 29, 2026, spot at $406.50, ATM IV 45.36%, IV rank 88.60%, expected move 13.01%. The covered call on ISRG 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 32-day expiry.
Why this covered call structure on ISRG specifically: ISRG IV at 45.36% is rich versus its 1-year range, which favors premium-selling structures like a ISRG covered call, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 13.01% (roughly $52.87 on the underlying). The 32-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated ISRG expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on ISRG should anchor to the underlying notional of $406.50 per share and to the trader's directional view on ISRG stock.
ISRG covered call setup
The ISRG 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 ISRG near $406.50, the first option leg uses a $425.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed ISRG chain at a 32-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 ISRG shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $406.50 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $425.00 | $14.40 |
ISRG covered call risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$39,210.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $3,290.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$39,209.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $392.10
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.084
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.
ISRG covered call payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the covered call on ISRG. 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% | -$39,209.00 |
| $89.89 | -77.9% | -$30,221.17 |
| $179.77 | -55.8% | -$21,233.34 |
| $269.64 | -33.7% | -$12,245.51 |
| $359.52 | -11.6% | -$3,257.68 |
| $449.40 | +10.6% | +$3,290.00 |
| $539.28 | +32.7% | +$3,290.00 |
| $629.16 | +54.8% | +$3,290.00 |
| $719.04 | +76.9% | +$3,290.00 |
| $808.91 | +99.0% | +$3,290.00 |
When traders use covered call on ISRG
Covered calls on ISRG are an income strategy run on existing ISRG stock positions; traders typically sell calls at 25-35 delta with 30-45 days to expiration to balance premium against upside cap.
ISRG thesis for this covered call
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ISRG extends from approximately $353.63 on the downside to $459.37 on the upside. A ISRG covered call collects premium on an existing long ISRG position, trading off upside above the short call strike for immediate income; the short strike selection should reflect the trader's view on whether ISRG will breach that level within the expiration window. Current ISRG IV rank near 88.60% sits in the upper third of its 1-year distribution, which historically reverts; this raises the bar for premium-buying structures and lowers it for premium-selling structures on ISRG at 45.36%. As a Healthcare name, ISRG options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to ISRG-specific events.
ISRG 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. ISRG positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move ISRG alongside the broader basket even when ISRG-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a covered call on ISRG carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical ISRG earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current ISRG chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a covered call on ISRG?
- A covered call on ISRG is the covered call strategy applied to ISRG (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 ISRG stock trading near $406.50, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed ISRG chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are ISRG 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 ISRG covered call priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 45.36%), the computed maximum profit is $3,290.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$39,209.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a ISRG covered call?
- The breakeven for the ISRG covered call priced on this page is roughly $392.10 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 ISRG market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 13.01%; 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 ISRG?
- Covered calls on ISRG are an income strategy run on existing ISRG 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 ISRG implied volatility affect this covered call?
- ISRG ATM IV is at 45.36% with IV rank near 88.60%, which is elevated relative to its 1-year range. Premium-selling structures (covered call, cash-secured put, iron condor) generally look more attractive when IV rank is high; premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are more expensive in that regime.