Highest Volatility Risk Premium (VRP) Stocks
Ten names where 30-day implied volatility runs furthest above 30-day realized, screened for options liquidity and refreshed every trading day.
The Short Answer
The volatility risk premium is the gap between what options imply a stock will move and what it actually delivers. It exists because option sellers demand compensation for wearing tail risk, and it is the structural edge behind most premium-selling strategies. The names on this list carry the widest gap right now: options priced for far more movement than the last month produced.
This screen subtracts 30-day close-to-close realized volatility from 30-day implied volatility, matched tenors from the same data snapshot, and ranks the spread in volatility points. A wide spread is not free money. It is usually the market charging for something it can see coming, an earnings date more often than not, so treat the list as a map of where the premium sits, not a list of automatic sells.
ApexVol screens 434 optionable names for this list, requiring a $10+ share price and 5,000+ contracts of average daily option volume before ranking. Ranked by 30-day implied volatility minus 30-day close-to-close realized volatility, matched tenors from the same vendor snapshot, in volatility points. Universe filtered to common stocks above $10 with 5,000+ contracts of average daily option volume and 30-day IV under 150%. Volatility ETPs excluded. Refreshed every trading day.
30-day IV at 91% against 47% realized over the same window: options are pricing 44 points more movement than the stock delivered. IV rank 53.
30-day IV at 100% against 64% realized over the same window: options are pricing 36 points more movement than the stock delivered. IV rank 59.
30-day IV at 70% against 34% realized over the same window: options are pricing 36 points more movement than the stock delivered. IV rank 46.
30-day IV at 103% against 70% realized over the same window: options are pricing 33 points more movement than the stock delivered. IV rank 45.
30-day IV at 67% against 35% realized over the same window: options are pricing 31 points more movement than the stock delivered. IV rank 18.
30-day IV at 56% against 32% realized over the same window: options are pricing 24 points more movement than the stock delivered. IV rank 38.
How We Ranked These Strategies
Ranked by 30-day implied volatility minus 30-day close-to-close realized volatility, matched tenors from the same vendor snapshot, in volatility points. Universe filtered to common stocks above $10 with 5,000+ contracts of average daily option volume and 30-day IV under 150%. Volatility ETPs excluded. Refreshed every trading day.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the volatility risk premium?
The gap between implied volatility, what options are priced for, and realized volatility, what the stock actually does. It is measured here as 30-day implied minus 30-day close-to-close realized, in volatility points. Across liquid names it is positive most of the time: option sellers are, on average, paid above delivered movement for carrying the risk of the periods when they are not.
Why do stocks heading into earnings dominate this list?
Because the two legs of the measure look in opposite directions. Implied volatility looks forward and includes the event; trailing realized looks back at a month that did not contain it. The spread on a pre-earnings name is event risk being priced, not an inefficiency. Check the earnings date before reading any entry as a premium-selling candidate.
Is a high VRP the same as a high IV rank?
No, and the difference is the point of this screen. IV rank compares a name to its own past year; VRP compares it to its own delivered movement. A stock can sit at a modest IV rank while its options still price double what it has been doing, and a high-rank name can carry almost no premium over realized if the stock is genuinely moving.
Can the volatility risk premium be negative?
Yes. When a stock moves more than its options implied, the premium inverts and sellers were undercompensated. Negative-VRP names never appear here because the list ranks the richest spreads, but they are common after shocks the market failed to price, and a deeply negative VRP is the buy-side case: movement selling below its recent delivered rate.
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