SMR Cash-Secured Put Strategy
SMR (NuScale Power Corporation), in the Utilities sector, (Renewable Utilities industry), listed on NYSE.
NuScale Power Corporation specializes in the development and sale of modular light water reactor nuclear power facilities. These innovative plants are designed to provide energy for a wide array of applications, including the generation of electricity, district heating systems, water desalination, hydrogen production, and various industrial heat processes. Key products in their portfolio include the NuScale Power Module, an individual water reactor unit capable of producing 77 megawatts of electricity (MWe). They also offer the VOYGR-12 power plant, which delivers a substantial 924 MWe, along with four-module VOYGR-4 and six-module VOYGR-6 configurations. Beyond these standard offerings, NuScale provides other adaptable configurations tailored to meet specific customer demands. Established in 2007, the company maintains its headquarters in Portland, Oregon, and operates as a subsidiary of Fluor Enterprises, Inc.
SMR (NuScale Power Corporation) trades in the Utilities sector, specifically Renewable Utilities, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.86B, a beta of 2.31 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 7.21-57.42, average daily share volume of 33.7M, a public-listing history dating back to 2022, approximately 428 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how SMR stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 2.31 indicates SMR has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position.
What is a cash-secured put on SMR?
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.
SMR snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $9.43, ATM IV 78.83%, IV rank 7.61%, expected move 22.60%. The cash-secured put on SMR below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 28-day expiry.
Why this cash-secured put structure on SMR specifically: SMR IV at 78.83% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling SMR cash-secured put collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 22.60% (roughly $2.13 on the underlying). The 28-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated SMR expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on SMR should anchor to the underlying notional of $9.43 per share and to the trader's directional view on SMR stock.
SMR cash-secured put setup
The SMR cash-secured put below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With SMR at $9.43 on that close, the first option leg uses a $9.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed SMR chain at a 28-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 SMR shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Put | $9.00 | $0.59 |
SMR cash-secured put risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$59.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $59.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$840.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $8.41
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.070
Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.
SMR cash-secured put payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put on SMR. 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 | -99.9% | -$840.00 |
| $2.09 | -77.8% | -$631.61 |
| $4.18 | -55.7% | -$423.22 |
| $6.26 | -33.6% | -$214.82 |
| $8.35 | -11.5% | -$6.43 |
| $10.43 | +10.6% | +$59.00 |
| $12.51 | +32.7% | +$59.00 |
| $14.60 | +54.8% | +$59.00 |
| $16.68 | +76.9% | +$59.00 |
| $18.77 | +99.0% | +$59.00 |
When traders use cash-secured put on SMR
Cash-secured puts on SMR earn premium while a trader waits to acquire SMR stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning SMR.
SMR thesis for this cash-secured put
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for SMR extends from approximately $7.30 on the downside to $11.56 on the upside. A SMR cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire SMR 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 SMR IV rank near 7.61% 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 SMR at 78.83%. As a Utilities name, SMR options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to SMR-specific events.
SMR 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. SMR positions also carry Utilities sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move SMR alongside the broader basket even when SMR-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on SMR carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical SMR earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current SMR chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a cash-secured put on SMR?
- A cash-secured put on SMR is the cash-secured put strategy applied to SMR (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 SMR stock at $9.43 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed SMR chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are SMR 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 SMR cash-secured put priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 78.83%), the computed maximum profit is $59.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$840.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a SMR cash-secured put?
- The breakeven for the SMR cash-secured put priced on this page is roughly $8.41 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 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 SMR market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 22.60%; 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 SMR?
- Cash-secured puts on SMR earn premium while a trader waits to acquire SMR stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning SMR.
- How does current SMR implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
- SMR ATM IV is at 78.83% with IV rank near 7.61%, 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.