QLYS Covered Call 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 covered call on QLYS?
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 QLYS snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $89.45, ATM IV 49.30%, IV rank 51.02%, expected move 14.13%. The covered call 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 covered call structure on QLYS specifically: QLYS IV at 49.30% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so the credit collected on a QLYS covered call 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 covered call setup
The QLYS 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 QLYS near $89.45, the first option leg uses a $95.00 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $89.45 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $95.00 | $3.65 |
QLYS covered call risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$8,580.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $920.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$8,579.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $85.80
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.107
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.
QLYS covered call payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the covered call 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% | -$8,579.00 |
| $19.79 | -77.9% | -$6,601.32 |
| $39.56 | -55.8% | -$4,623.64 |
| $59.34 | -33.7% | -$2,645.96 |
| $79.12 | -11.6% | -$668.29 |
| $98.89 | +10.6% | +$920.00 |
| $118.67 | +32.7% | +$920.00 |
| $138.45 | +54.8% | +$920.00 |
| $158.22 | +76.9% | +$920.00 |
| $178.00 | +99.0% | +$920.00 |
When traders use covered call on QLYS
Covered calls on QLYS are an income strategy run on existing QLYS stock positions; traders typically sell calls at 25-35 delta with 30-45 days to expiration to balance premium against upside cap.
QLYS thesis for this covered call
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 covered call collects premium on an existing long QLYS position, trading off upside above the short call strike for immediate income; the short strike selection should reflect the trader's view on whether QLYS will breach that level within the expiration window. Current QLYS IV rank near 51.02% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the covered call 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 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. 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 covered call 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 covered call on QLYS?
- A covered call on QLYS is the covered call strategy applied to QLYS (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 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 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 QLYS covered call priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 49.30%), the computed maximum profit is $920.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$8,579.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a QLYS covered call?
- The breakeven for the QLYS covered call priced on this page is roughly $85.80 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 covered call on QLYS?
- Covered calls on QLYS are an income strategy run on existing QLYS 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 QLYS implied volatility affect this covered call?
- 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.