QLYS Cash-Secured Put Strategy
QLYS (Qualys, Inc.), in the Technology sector, (Software - Infrastructure industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Qualys, Inc. provides cloud-based information technology (IT), security, and compliance solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers Qualys Cloud Apps, which includes Vulnerability Management; Vulnerability Management, Detection and Response; Threat Protection; Continuous Monitoring; Patch Management; Multi-Vector Endpoint Detection and Response; Certificate Assessment; SaaS Detection and Response; Secure Enterprise Mobility; Policy Compliance; Security Configuration Assessment; PCI Compliance; File Integrity Monitoring; Security Assessment Questionnaire; Out of-Band Configuration Assessment; Web Application Scanning; Web Application Firewall; Global Asset Inventory; Cybersecurity Asset Management; Certificate Inventory; Cloud Inventory; Cloud Security Assessment; and Container Security. Its integrated suite of IT, security, and compliance solutions delivered on its Qualys Cloud Platform enables customers to identify and manage IT assets, collect and analyze IT security data, discover and prioritize vulnerabilities, recommend and implement remediation actions, and verify the implementation of such actions. The company also provides asset tagging and management, reporting and dashboards, questionnaires and collaboration, remediation and workflow, big data correlation and analytics engine, and alerts and notifications, which enable integrated workflows, management and real-time analysis, and reporting across IT, security, and compliance solutions. The company offers its solutions through its sales teams, as well as through its network of channel partners, such as security consulting organizations, managed service providers, resellers, and consulting firms. It serves enterprises, government entities, and small and medium-sized businesses in various industries, including education, financial services, government, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, media, retail, technology, and utilities.
QLYS (Qualys, Inc.) trades in the Technology sector, specifically Software - Infrastructure, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.05B, a trailing P/E of 15.29, a beta of 0.58 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 74.51-155.47, average daily share volume of 842K, a public-listing history dating back to 2012, approximately 2K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how QLYS stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.58 indicates QLYS has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure.
What is a cash-secured put on QLYS?
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 QLYS snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $89.45, ATM IV 49.30%, IV rank 51.02%, expected move 14.13%. The cash-secured put on QLYS 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 QLYS specifically: QLYS IV at 49.30% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so the credit collected on a QLYS cash-secured put sits in line with its long-run distribution, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 14.13% (roughly $12.64 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 QLYS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on QLYS should anchor to the underlying notional of $89.45 per share and to the trader's directional view on QLYS stock.
QLYS cash-secured put setup
The QLYS 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 QLYS near $89.45, 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 QLYS 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 QLYS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Put | $85.00 | $3.25 |
QLYS cash-secured put risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$325.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $325.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$8,174.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $81.75
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.040
Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.
QLYS cash-secured put payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put on QLYS. 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% | -$8,174.00 |
| $19.79 | -77.9% | -$6,196.32 |
| $39.56 | -55.8% | -$4,218.64 |
| $59.34 | -33.7% | -$2,240.96 |
| $79.12 | -11.6% | -$263.29 |
| $98.89 | +10.6% | +$325.00 |
| $118.67 | +32.7% | +$325.00 |
| $138.45 | +54.8% | +$325.00 |
| $158.22 | +76.9% | +$325.00 |
| $178.00 | +99.0% | +$325.00 |
When traders use cash-secured put on QLYS
Cash-secured puts on QLYS earn premium while a trader waits to acquire QLYS stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning QLYS.
QLYS thesis for this cash-secured put
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for QLYS extends from approximately $76.81 on the downside to $102.09 on the upside. A QLYS cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire QLYS 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 QLYS IV rank near 51.02% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the cash-secured put thesis on QLYS should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Technology name, QLYS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to QLYS-specific events.
QLYS 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. QLYS positions also carry Technology sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move QLYS alongside the broader basket even when QLYS-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on QLYS carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical QLYS earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current QLYS chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a cash-secured put on QLYS?
- A cash-secured put on QLYS is the cash-secured put strategy applied to QLYS (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 QLYS stock trading near $89.45, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed QLYS chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are QLYS 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 QLYS cash-secured put priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 49.30%), the computed maximum profit is $325.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$8,174.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a QLYS cash-secured put?
- The breakeven for the QLYS cash-secured put priced on this page is roughly $81.75 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 QLYS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 14.13%; 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 QLYS?
- Cash-secured puts on QLYS earn premium while a trader waits to acquire QLYS stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning QLYS.
- How does current QLYS implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
- QLYS ATM IV is at 49.30% with IV rank near 51.02%, 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.