BAX Covered Call Analysis

The top-ranked covered call for Baxter International is the $19 strike expiring 2026-04-24 (23 DTE), offering 23.8% annualized return with a delta of 0.18. It earns a CC Score of 64 out of 100. Data is updated daily after market close.

For Baxter International, delta 0.20–0.30 is a common range for covered calls. This gives 70–80% probability of the option expiring worthless while collecting meaningful premium. Lower delta (0.15–0.20) is more conservative, while 0.30–0.40 generates more income but has higher assignment probability.

The CC Score (0–100) ranks covered call opportunities across 7 dimensions: Income potential (22%), Safety (18%), Liquidity (18%), Underlying Quality (14%), Event Safety (12%), IV Opportunity (8%), and Execution Quality (8%). Higher scores mean better risk-adjusted opportunities. Sort by CC Score to find the best strike and expiration combo for Baxter International.

Weekly covered calls (7–14 DTE) offer faster theta decay and more flexibility but require active management. Monthly covered calls (30–45 DTE) balance time premium with less frequent rolling. For Baxter International, current elevated IV makes both viable — weeklies capture the rich premium faster. The CC Score ranks both DTE ranges so you can compare directly.

The primary risk is capped upside: if Baxter International rallies sharply, you are obligated to sell at the strike price and miss gains above it. At the current top-ranked $19 strike (10.9% OTM), any rally beyond that level means you sell shares below market price. To contextualize: covered calls are best suited for sideways-to-mildly-bullish outlooks. If you expect a significant move higher, consider waiting to sell the call or using a wider strike. The CC Score penalizes strikes with elevated event risk to help you avoid the worst setups.

Baxter International currently has an IV Rank of 90%. IV is elevated, meaning option premiums are richer than usual — a favorable environment for selling covered calls. Higher IV translates directly to more income per contract for the same strike distance.

The bid-ask spread on the top strike is 80.0%, which can reduce practical returns. Wide spreads mean you give up a portion of the premium to slippage on entry and exit. Use limit orders — start near the natural price and walk toward mid. If the spread exceeds 10-15% of the premium collected, the execution cost may outweigh the income.