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Every term used in Mammoth Premium, in plain language. Option prices are quoted per share; one contract covers 100 shares. Column headers, badges, and flags in the app link here.
Annualized ROC
The premium as a return on the money set aside, scaled to a full year.
Formula: (premium per share ÷ strike) × (365 ÷ days to expiration). Scaling to a year lets a short, 5-day trade be compared fairly with a 30-day one. It can be shown on a cash-secured or a margin basis; the margin figure is always higher only because less money is set aside, not because the trade is safer.
Example: $1.02 per share ($102 per contract) on a $165 strike with 5 days left: (1.02 ÷ 165) × (365 ÷ 5) ≈ 45% a year.
Assignment
Having to buy (for a put) or sell (for a call) 100 shares per contract at the strike.
If a put you sold ends below its strike, you're normally assigned: you buy 100 shares per contract at the strike. You keep the premium, which lowers what the shares really cost you. For a covered call, assignment means your shares are sold at the strike ("called away").
Example: You sold one $165 put for $1.02 per share ($102 per contract) and the stock closes at $160. You buy 100 shares for $16,500; after the premium they cost you $163.98 each, $3.98 a share above the $160 market price.
Bid–ask spread
The gap between the highest price a buyer will pay and the lowest a seller will accept.
A wide gap compared with the midpoint means a thin market, and you'll likely get a worse price than the middle of the quote. Narrower is better.
Example: A contract quoted $0.95 bid / $1.05 ask has a $0.10 spread on a $1.00 midpoint, or 10%.
Breakeven
The stock price below which a sold put starts losing money.
Formula: strike − premium per share. The premium you collect moves your breakeven below the strike, so you don't lose money the moment the stock dips under the strike — only once it falls below strike minus premium.
Example: Stock at $174.33, $165 strike, $1.02 premium per share: breakeven is $163.98, about 5.9% below today's price.
Capital at risk
The full value behind a sold put: strike × 100 shares per contract.
This is the "stock goes to zero" figure. It's the same whether you hold the put cash-secured or on margin; only how much you set aside up front changes (see Margin requirement).
Example: One $165 put has $16,500 at risk, cash-secured or on margin.
Cash-secured put
Selling a put while keeping enough cash to buy the shares at the strike.
Selling a put is a promise to buy 100 shares per contract at the strike if the buyer exercises. Cash-secured means you set aside strike × 100 in cash for each contract. You collect the premium up front; if the stock stays above the strike, the put expires worthless and you keep it. If it ends below, you buy the shares at the strike (see Assignment).
Example: You sell one $165 put expiring in 5 days for $1.02 per share and set aside $16,500. If the stock closes above $165, you keep $102. If it closes below, you buy 100 shares at $165.
Contract
One standard US stock option, covering 100 shares.
Option prices are quoted per share, but you trade whole contracts of 100 shares. To get the dollars for one contract, multiply the per-share price by 100. Your broker shows the per-share price on the order screen and the per-contract amount once the trade fills.
Example: A premium of $1.05 per share is $105 for one contract, or $315 for three.
Covered call
Selling a call option on shares you already own, 100 shares per contract.
You collect a premium now for agreeing to sell your shares at the strike if the stock ends above it at expiration. If it ends below, the call expires and you keep both the premium and your shares. Choosing a strike at or above what you paid means being called away never locks in a loss on the shares, though you give up any rise above the strike.
Example: You own 100 shares bought at $185.40 and sell one $232.50 call for $1.05 per share. You collect $105. If the stock ends above $232.50, your shares sell at $232.50; otherwise you keep them and the $105.
Delta
How much an option's price tends to move for a $1 move in the stock; also a rough guide to the chance it ends in the money.
Put deltas run from 0 (far out of the money) to −1 (deep in the money); call deltas from 0 to 1. A low delta, such as −0.15 on a put or 0.15 on a call, means the option is far from the stock price and is more likely to expire worthless.
Example: A put with −0.15 delta tends to lose about $0.15 per share in value for every $1 the stock rises.
DTE
Days to expiration: calendar days left until the option expires.
Counted in calendar days, not trading days, using the US market's date (Eastern time).
Example: Checking on a Sunday for a Friday expiration gives DTE = 5, even though the market is closed on the weekend.
Earnings risk
The company reports earnings before the option expires.
An earnings report can move a stock sharply overnight, far more than a normal day. That can push a stock through a strike that looked comfortably far away. Put ideas leave these stocks out; call ideas show a warning so you can decide.
Example: A call idea marked "earnings before expiration" has a report scheduled before the call expires.
Ex-dividend risk
An ex-dividend date falls before the option expires.
Around an ex-dividend date, an option holder is more likely to exercise early. For covered calls that matters most: an in-the-money call can be exercised the day before the ex-date, taking your shares and the dividend. Ideas with this risk are flagged, not removed.
Example: A call idea flagged "ex-dividend before expiration" has an ex-dividend date before the call expires.
Expiration
The date the option stops trading and settles.
US stock options expire on their stated date. They can be exercised any time before then, though early exercise is uncommon except around dividends. Ideas come in two groups: weekly (about a week out) and monthly (about a month out).
Example: A put listed as "09/11 $165 put" expires on September 11.
House requirement
Your broker's own margin rule, which can be stricter than Reg T.
Brokers may require more margin than the Reg T minimum, especially for volatile stocks. We can't know your broker's rule, so margin figures are estimates you should check with your broker.
Example: If your broker asks for 20% more than Reg T, expect the margin you need to be about 1.2 times the estimate shown.
Implied volatility
How much the market expects the stock to move, as a yearly percentage, worked out from option prices.
Higher implied volatility means richer premiums for sellers, but it also means the market expects bigger moves, often around earnings or news.
Example: 48.5% implied volatility means the market is pricing in moves of about 48.5% a year (one standard deviation) — high for a large company.
IV rank
Where today's implied volatility sits within its own recent range, from 0 (lowest) to 100 (highest).
Some stocks are always more volatile than others, so a raw number doesn't say whether volatility is high for that stock. IV rank compares today's level with the stock's own history.
Example: An IV rank of 65 means today's implied volatility is higher than 65% of the stock's recent readings.
Margin requirement
An estimate of the money a broker requires to hold a put sold on margin rather than cash.
Formula (Reg T estimate): the larger of 20% of the stock price minus the amount the put is out of the money plus the premium, or 10% of the strike plus the premium — times 100 per contract. Your broker's house requirement may be higher.
Example: Stock at $174.33, $165 strike, $1.02 premium per share: about $2,655 per contract.
Model mark
A calculated fair value for an option, used as the premium when no live quote is available.
When there's no live bid and ask, we estimate what the option is worth from its implied volatility, the stock price, the strike and the days left, using the Black-Scholes model. Estimates are labeled everywhere they appear. Check the live price at your broker before trading.
Example: An idea showing "$0.71 (estimate)" is a calculated value per share, not a live quote.
Naked put
A put sold with margin behind it instead of the full cash.
The trade is the same as a cash-secured put; only the money set aside changes. The possible loss is the same either way — margin only changes how much of your own money is tied up.
Example: The same $165 put needs $16,500 set aside as cash-secured, or an estimated $2,655 on margin.
Open interest
How many contracts of this exact strike and expiration are open right now.
Higher open interest usually means an easier market to trade in, with tighter spreads and better prices.
Example: Open interest of 3,031 means 3,031 contracts are currently held open by traders.
Options approval level
The level of options trading your broker has approved you for.
Brokers unlock strategies in steps, usually from covered calls (lowest) up to naked positions (highest). Check your approval level with your broker before placing a trade.
Example: A broker might allow cash-secured puts at one level and require a higher one for naked puts.
Probability OTM
The estimated chance the option expires out of the money, worthless to the buyer.
Approximated as 1 minus the absolute value of delta. It's the market's estimate built into option prices, not a guarantee. For a covered call, it's roughly the chance you keep your shares.
Example: A put with −0.12 delta has about an 88% chance of expiring out of the money.
Quality score
A 0–100 number that sums up an idea, used to put the best ideas first.
It combines what the idea pays for the time, how likely it is to work out, and how easily the option trades. Put ideas and call ideas each have their own version. A higher score is a better balance of these, not a promise of profit.
Example: A put idea scoring 80 ranks above one scoring 65 on the same list.
Reg T
The Federal Reserve rule that sets the minimum margin brokers must require.
Reg T is a floor, not a ceiling. Margin figures are labeled "estimated · Reg T" because your broker's own requirement may be higher.
Example: Reg T might call for $2,655 of margin per contract; your broker could ask for $3,000 or more.
Strike
The price at which the option can be exercised.
For a put you sell, the strike is the price you'd pay for the shares if assigned. For a covered call, it's the price your shares would sell at. Strikes further from the current price are less likely to be reached and pay smaller premiums.
Example: With the stock at $174.33, a $162.50 put strike is about 6.8% below today's price.