UIS Covered Call Strategy
UIS (Unisys Corporation), in the Technology sector, (Information Technology Services industry), listed on NYSE.
Unisys Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an information technology services company worldwide. It operates in Digital Workplace Solutions (DWS); Cloud and Infrastructure Solutions (C&I); and Enterprise Computing Solutions (ECS) segments. The DWS segment provides solutions that transform digital workplaces securely and create exceptional end-user experiences. The C&I segment offers solutions that drive modern IT service platforms, cloud applications development, intelligent services, and cybersecurity services. The ECS segment provides solutions that harness secure, continuous high-intensity computing, and enable digital services through software-defined operating environments. Its solutions include Unisys InteliServe, a service solution that transforms traditional service desk into an intelligent, user-centric experience aligned with the needs of the modern digital workplace; Unisys CloudForte, a comprehensive managed service offering to help accelerate the secure move of data and applications to the cloud; PowerSuite, a packaged software tool used by enterprise IT to monitor, analyze, troubleshoot and secure collaboration, and communications multi-platform environments; Unisys ClearPath Forward, a software operating environment for high-intensity enterprise computing; and Unisys Stealth security software, which enables trusted identities to access micro-segmented critical assets and safely communicate through secure and encrypted channels.
UIS (Unisys Corporation) trades in the Technology sector, specifically Information Technology Services, with a market capitalization of approximately $226.0M, a beta of 1.61 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 1.97-5.56, average daily share volume of 842K, a public-listing history dating back to 1972, approximately 16K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how UIS stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.61 indicates UIS 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 covered call on UIS?
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 UIS snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $2.98, ATM IV 81.30%, IV rank 9.20%, expected move 23.31%. The covered call on UIS 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 UIS specifically: UIS IV at 81.30% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling UIS covered call collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 23.31% (roughly $0.69 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 UIS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on UIS should anchor to the underlying notional of $2.98 per share and to the trader's directional view on UIS stock.
UIS covered call setup
The UIS 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 UIS near $2.98, the first option leg uses a $3.13 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed UIS 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 UIS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $2.98 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $3.13 | N/A |
UIS covered call 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 short-strike minus cost basis plus premium times 100; max loss is cost basis minus premium (at zero). Breakeven is cost basis minus premium.
UIS covered call payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the covered call on UIS. 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 covered call on UIS
Covered calls on UIS are an income strategy run on existing UIS stock positions; traders typically sell calls at 25-35 delta with 30-45 days to expiration to balance premium against upside cap.
UIS thesis for this covered call
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for UIS extends from approximately $2.29 on the downside to $3.67 on the upside. A UIS covered call collects premium on an existing long UIS position, trading off upside above the short call strike for immediate income; the short strike selection should reflect the trader's view on whether UIS will breach that level within the expiration window. Current UIS IV rank near 9.20% 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 UIS at 81.30%. As a Technology name, UIS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to UIS-specific events.
UIS 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. UIS positions also carry Technology sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move UIS alongside the broader basket even when UIS-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a covered call on UIS carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical UIS earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current UIS chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a covered call on UIS?
- A covered call on UIS is the covered call strategy applied to UIS (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 UIS stock trading near $2.98, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed UIS chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are UIS 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 UIS covered call priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 81.30%), 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 UIS covered call?
- The breakeven for the UIS covered call 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 UIS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 23.31%; 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 UIS?
- Covered calls on UIS are an income strategy run on existing UIS 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 UIS implied volatility affect this covered call?
- UIS ATM IV is at 81.30% with IV rank near 9.20%, 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.