u/BaseballEven6245

My current total return on this position is 19%, and I’m looking at covered calls with strikes below my adjusted cost basis.

The tradeoff in the screenshot is pretty clear:

If the call expires worthless, the added premium keeps my total return around 19.8%–20.1%.
If the stock rallies and the shares are called away, my final return drops as I choose a lower strike—from about 18.7% at the $87 strike down to 12.2% at the $81 strike.
Some of the lower strikes offer more premium, but I would be giving up more recovery upside and potentially exiting the shares below my basis.

If I don’t expect the stock to recover to my cost basis anytime soon but if it unexpectedly rallies and I’m assigned, I still exit with an overall profit—just a smaller one than I currently have.

Is this a reasonable way to manage an underwater position?

At what point does collecting premium become more important than protecting the return you would have if the shares were called away?

Put Call Parity

For those of you near retirement or retired already, Do you have enough set aside in safe income investments? Or are you trading with your nest egg?

New Iren, Sofi and CCL Trades

Do you ever sell covered calls below your cost basis when you’ve lost confidence in the stock?