Options Trading Sparks Interest for United States Steel Corp. Investors

New January 2025 Options Provide Compelling Opportunities for Traders

Investors in United States Steel Corp. (Symbol: X) witnessed the launch of new options today, targeting expiration in January 2025. Using the YieldBoost formula at Stock Options Channel, we’ve pinpointed one notable put and one call contract from the newly traded X options.

The $33.00 strike price put contract currently holds a bid of $1.19. Investors selling-to-open this put are agreeing to buy the stock at $33.00 while collecting the premium, effectively lowering the cost basis of the shares to $31.81 (excluding broker commissions). For those planning to buy shares of X, this alternative could be appealing compared to the current share price of $33.98.

This put option represents about a 3% discount from the stock’s current price and has a 63% chance of expiring worthless, based on current data including options greeks. Over time, Stock Options Channel will monitor these odds and provide updates on our website, alongside a detailed chart for this contract. If the put does expire worthless, the premium earned would yield a return of 3.61% on the cash commitment, or 26.32% annualized—an outcome we refer to as YieldBoost.

Below is a chart depicting the past twelve months of trading for United States Steel Corp., with the $33.00 strike price highlighted in green:

Shifting focus to the calls side, the $38.00 strike price call contract is currently bid at $1.44. If an investor buys shares of X at $33.98 and sells-to-open this call as a “covered call,” they commit to selling their stock at $38.00. Additionally, they would earn a premium, which could lead to a total return of 16.07% (excluding dividends) if the stock is called away at expiration in January 2025. However, significant upside potential could be missed if X experiences substantial growth, underscoring the importance of analyzing recent trading history and the company’s fundamentals. Below is a chart illustrating X’s past trading activity, with the $38.00 strike marked in red:

The $38.00 strike price represents about a 12% premium over the current stock price, also placing it out-of-the-money by the same percentage. Should the covering call expire worthless, the investor retains their shares and the earned premium. Current data indicates a 55% likelihood of this outcome. Stock Options Channel will track and publish shifts in these odds over time on our website.

If the covered call contract were to expire worthless, the premium collected would yield an additional 4.24% return for the investor, totaling 30.94% annualized—again termed YieldBoost.

For reference, the implied volatility of the put contract is at 78%, while the call contract is at 88%. Meanwhile, our calculations indicate that the actual trailing twelve-month volatility, based on the prior 254 trading days plus today’s price of $33.98, is 48%. For additional ideas regarding put and call options, explore StockOptionsChannel.com.

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Also see:

• Top Ten Hedge Funds Holding MDXG
• Institutional Holders of MPC
• HAST Historical Stock Prices

The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and may not reflect the views of Nasdaq, Inc.