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Best Stocks for Cash-Secured Puts: 10 by Yield
Ten cash-secured put candidates ranked by annualised yield on collateral, filtered for options liquidity and a share price a normal account can cover.
On this page
The short answer
The best stocks for cash-secured puts pay enough premium to justify tying up the collateral, on a company you would genuinely accept owning at the strike. Yield alone is a trap: the highest premiums sit on the names most likely to gap through your strike, which is exactly when assignment stops being a good outcome.
This screen ranks by estimated annualised yield on a roughly 30-delta put 30 days out, then filters for options liquidity (so you can actually close early) and caps the share price at $200 so a single contract does not consume an entire account. Yields are modelled from live 30-day implied volatility, not quoted from a chain, so treat them as a ranking signal rather than a fill you can expect.
ApexVol screens 417 optionable names for this list, requiring a $10+ share price and 5,000+ contracts of average daily option volume before ranking. Ranked by estimated annualised yield on a ~30-delta, ~30-DTE cash-secured put, computed from live 30-day implied volatility. Universe filtered to names above $5 and under $200 with at least 1,000 contracts of average daily option volume. Yield estimates are conservative and assume no early close.
Ranked at a glance
10 picks,
in order.
Ranked by estimated annualised yield on a ~30-delta, ~30-DTE cash-secured put, computed from live 30-day implied volatility. Universe filtered to names above $5 and under $200 with at least 1,000 contracts of average daily option volume. Yield estimates are conservative and assume no early close.
| Rank | Name | Key stat | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LQDA | IV percentile 27 (IV 132.6%) | IV rank 27 with 30-day IV at 133%. At $71 a share, one contract needs about $6,716 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike. |
| 2 | AXTI | IV percentile 9 (IV 123.8%) | IV rank 9 with 30-day IV at 124%. At $78 a share, one contract needs about $7,427 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike. |
| 3 | IOVA | IV percentile 50 (IV 122.1%) | IV rank 50 with 30-day IV at 122%. At $14 a share, one contract needs about $1,373 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike. |
| 4 | SMMT | IV percentile 82 (IV 111.8%) | IV rank 82 with 30-day IV at 112%. At $16 a share, one contract needs about $1,557 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike. |
| 5 | PCVX | IV percentile 96 (IV 109.0%) | IV rank 96 with 30-day IV at 109%. At $57 a share, one contract needs about $5,386 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike. |
| 6 | PURR | IV percentile 34 (IV 102.8%) | IV rank 34 with 30-day IV at 103%. At $12 a share, one contract needs about $1,132 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike. |
| 7 | NN | IV percentile 40 (IV 100.7%) | IV rank 40 with 30-day IV at 101%. At $14 a share, one contract needs about $1,320 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike. |
| 8 | BTDR | IV percentile 8 (IV 93.3%) | IV rank 8 with 30-day IV at 93%. At $11 a share, one contract needs about $1,036 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike. |
| 9 | HUT | IV percentile 1 (IV 89.5%) | IV rank 1 with 30-day IV at 90%. At $93 a share, one contract needs about $8,822 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike. |
| 10 | FSLY | IV percentile 77 (IV 88.0%) | IV rank 77 with 30-day IV at 88%. At $25 a share, one contract needs about $2,421 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike. |
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LQDA Top pick
IV rank 27 with 30-day IV at 133%. At $71 a share, one contract needs about $6,716 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike.
IV percentile 27 (IV 132.6%), measured 2026-09-30
Ideal for 156% est. annualised yield
-
AXTI
IV rank 9 with 30-day IV at 124%. At $78 a share, one contract needs about $7,427 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike.
IV percentile 9 (IV 123.8%), measured 2026-09-30
Ideal for 146% est. annualised yield
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IOVA
IV rank 50 with 30-day IV at 122%. At $14 a share, one contract needs about $1,373 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike.
IV percentile 50 (IV 122.1%), measured 2026-09-30
Ideal for 141% est. annualised yield
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SMMT
IV rank 82 with 30-day IV at 112%. At $16 a share, one contract needs about $1,557 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike.
IV percentile 82 (IV 111.8%), measured 2026-09-30
Ideal for 128% est. annualised yield
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PCVX
IV rank 96 with 30-day IV at 109%. At $57 a share, one contract needs about $5,386 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike.
IV percentile 96 (IV 109.0%), measured 2026-09-30
Ideal for 128% est. annualised yield
-
PURR
IV rank 34 with 30-day IV at 103%. At $12 a share, one contract needs about $1,132 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike.
IV percentile 34 (IV 102.8%), measured 2026-09-30
Ideal for 124% est. annualised yield
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NN
IV rank 40 with 30-day IV at 101%. At $14 a share, one contract needs about $1,320 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike.
IV percentile 40 (IV 100.7%), measured 2026-09-30
Ideal for 120% est. annualised yield
-
BTDR
IV rank 8 with 30-day IV at 93%. At $11 a share, one contract needs about $1,036 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike.
IV percentile 8 (IV 93.3%), measured 2026-09-30
Ideal for 114% est. annualised yield
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HUT
IV rank 1 with 30-day IV at 90%. At $93 a share, one contract needs about $8,822 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike.
IV percentile 1 (IV 89.5%), measured 2026-09-30
Ideal for 105% est. annualised yield
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FSLY
IV rank 77 with 30-day IV at 88%. At $25 a share, one contract needs about $2,421 of collateral at a 5%-OTM strike.
IV percentile 77 (IV 88.0%), measured 2026-09-30
Ideal for 104% est. annualised yield
Live data, refreshed October 1, 2026. October 2026 data refresh: rebuilt from 417 liquid names on the 2026-09-30 data snapshot. Top pick LQDA at 156% est. annualised yield.
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Questions
About this ranking.
What makes a stock good for cash-secured puts?
Three things, in order: you would be content owning the shares at the strike, the options are liquid enough to close early, and the premium is worth the collateral. The third matters least. A 40% annualised yield on a company you would not hold through a drawdown is not income, it is a leveraged long position you have not priced properly.
How much capital does a cash-secured put need?
Strike price times 100, held in cash. A $50 strike ties up $5,000 per contract until expiration or close. That is why this screen caps share price at $200 — above that a single contract dominates most retail accounts, and concentration risk swamps whatever yield advantage the name offered.
Is a higher IV rank always better for selling puts?
No. High IV rank means options are expensive relative to this name's own past year, which is the right direction for a seller. But IV is usually high for a reason — pending earnings, litigation, a broken story. The screen surfaces the premium; checking why the premium exists is still your job.
What happens if the stock falls below my strike?
You are assigned the shares at the strike and keep the premium, so your effective cost basis is strike minus credit. That is the intended outcome of the wheel: you wanted the shares, you got them at a discount to where they were when you sold the put. It only hurts if you never wanted the shares.
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