Names screened
11
Eddie's watchlist
Passed the gate
0
Spread limit
8% of mid
Tightest spread
12.7%
$MSFT $490 put
The screen in one look
We screened 11 watchlist names at 10:07 a.m. ET on Cboe delayed quotes, looking for a cash-secured put 30–45 days out. Every candidate failed. Most chains were too thin (open interest under 500), and even the busy ones had spreads of 12.6% to 24.5% of the mid, against our 8% limit. The best-paying near miss, the $NBIS Oct 30 $210 put, quoted $7.40 bid and $8.70 ask.
Why nothing cleared the bar this morning
Our screen asks three things of a put before we write about it. It must pay at least 12% a year on the cash reserved. Its breakeven must sit at least 5% under the stock. And it must be easy to trade: at least 500 contracts of open interest and a bid/ask spread no wider than 8% of the mid price.
Today the money was there. Every name paid well above 12% a year at mid, from 23.5% on $MSFT to 66.0% on $AEHR. The cushions were fine too. What failed was the plumbing: the quotes were wide and the open interest was thin.
| Ticker | Stock | Put checked | Mid | Open int. | Spread | Annualized | Why it failed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $NBIS | $243.00 | $210 put | $8.05 | 347 | 16.1% | 46.6% | OI + spread |
| $ASTS | $61.75 | $54 put | $2.12 | 1,295 | 24.5% | 47.8% | Spread |
| $MSFT | $515.95 | $490 put | $9.45 | 383 | 12.7% | 23.5% | OI + spread |
| $CRDO | $195.89 | $165 put | $5.55 | 468 | 12.6% | 40.9% | OI + spread (9:25 quote) |
| $RKLB | $72.73 | $63 put | $2.07 | 333 | 51.8% | 39.9% | OI + spread |
| $AMKR | $53.75 | $46 put | $1.38 | 16 | 54.5% | 36.4% | OI + spread |
| $CDNS | $326.71 | $305 put | $8.80 | 5 | 43.2% | 35.1% | OI + spread |
| $SHOP | $149.68 | $132 put | $3.65 | 4 | 76.7% | 33.6% | OI + spread |
| $AEHR | $102.01 | $82 put | $4.45 | 5 | 51.7% | 66.0% | OI + spread |
| $AKAM | $108.93 | $97 put | $1.90 | 2 | 94.7% | 23.8% | OI + spread |
| $DRAM | — | — | — | — | — | — | No option chain in the feed |
A wide spread is a hidden fee
Take the $NBIS $210 put. The mid is $8.05, which works out to 46.6% a year on $21,000 of cash. But the bid is $7.40. If you sell at the bid, you give up $0.65 a share, or $65 per contract. That's about 8% of the credit gone before the trade even starts.
The busier $NBIS $215 put came closer. It had 706 contracts of open interest, but its delta was 0.253, just past our 0.20–0.25 band, and its spread was still 11.6% ($8.90 bid, $10.00 ask). In plain terms: good premium, bad price discovery, so the edge goes to whoever is on the other side.
Why the first hour is expensive
Market makers quote wide right after the open while prices settle. A spread is the gap between what buyers pay (bid) and what sellers ask. On an option, half that gap is a cost you pay every time you open or close. Spreads usually tighten as volume builds through the morning.
Why waiting is the trade
Patience costs almost nothing here. The October 30 expiry isn't going anywhere, and the premium doesn't vanish in two hours. A tighter quote later today could hand you back most of that $65.
The calendar also argues for a pause. August PCE inflation came out at 8:30 a.m. ET, $MU reports after today's close, and September payrolls land Friday. Each can move yields and chip stocks, and wide quotes make it harder to react.
What we'll check at the next screen
- $NBIS: the $215 put has the open interest (706). It needs a spread under 8% of mid and a delta back inside 0.20–0.25. The stock sits at $243.00, above its 20-day ($226.85), 50-day ($218.27) and 200-day ($166.24) averages, with RSI(14) at 57.4.
- $ASTS: the $54 put has deep open interest (1,295) and pays 47.8% a year at mid, but its spread was 24.5%.
- $MSFT: the $490 put pays 23.5% a year at mid, but open interest was only 383 and the spread 12.7%.
- $CRDO: its latest Cboe quote was from 9:25 a.m. ET, before the open, so it gets a fresh look.
Don't chase a fill
If you trade options on a morning like this, use limit orders only, never market orders. A market order on a 16% spread fills at the worst price on the screen. If your limit near the mid doesn't fill, that's information, not a reason to give ground.
Beginner corner
Open interest is the number of contracts that already exist at a strike. More open interest usually means more traders and tighter quotes. The spread is the gap between the bid and the ask. When both look bad, the fair price of the option is harder to know, and you're more likely to overpay on the way in and the way out.
The premiums on Eddie's watchlist are rich this morning, but the quotes aren't tradable at a fair price yet. This fits sellers who can wait an hour or a day; skip it if you feel the urge to hit the bid just to be in a trade.
Sources
- [1]NBIS delayed options quotes — Cboe · Accessed 2026-09-30T14:07:00Z · Tier 1
- [2]MSFT delayed options quotes — Cboe · Accessed 2026-09-30T14:07:00Z · Tier 1
- [3]ASTS delayed options quotes — Cboe · Accessed 2026-09-30T14:07:00Z · Tier 1
- [4]CRDO delayed options quotes — Cboe · Accessed 2026-09-30T14:07:00Z · Tier 1
- [5]NBIS historical prices — Nasdaq · Accessed 2026-09-30T14:07:00Z · Tier 2
- [6]Release schedule (Personal Income and Outlays, August 2026) — U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · Accessed 2026-09-30T14:07:00Z · Tier 1
This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not financial advice. Options involve risk and are not suitable for every investor. Do your own research before trading.
