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About YieldBoost

Since 2003, our company has operated the stock picking discussion community ValueForumTM, where members gather each year for an event we call InvestFestTM. Both online and at these events, stock options are consistently a topic of interest. The two most consistently discussed strategies are: (1) Selling covered calls for extra income, and (2) Selling puts for extra income.

The Stock Options Channel website, and our proprietary YieldBoost formula, was designed with these two strategies in mind. Each week we put out a free newsletter sharing the results of our YieldBoost rankings, and throughout each day we share even more detailed reports to subscribers to our premium service.

On the CALLS side of the options chain, the YieldBoost formula looks for the highest premiums a call seller can receive (expressed in terms of the extra yield against the current share price — the boost — delivered by the option premium), with strikes that are out-of-the-money with low odds of the stock being called away.

On the PUTS side of the options chain, the YieldBoost formula considers that the option seller makes a commitment to put up a certain amount of cash to buy the stock at a given strike, and looks for the highest premiums a put seller can receive (expressed in terms of the extra yield against the cash commitment — the boost — delivered by the option premium), with strikes that are out-of-the-money with low odds of the stock being put to the option seller.

The results of these rankings are meant to express the top most ''interesting'' options identified by the formula, which are meant as a research tool for users to generate ideas that merit further research.

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Slideshow Top YieldBoost CALLS of the Dow Components

By Stock Options Channel Staff, updated Sunday, October 13, 9:11 PM

This Slide: #1 of 15

#15. MRK Dec 2026 130.00 CALL | 3.1% Annualized YieldBoost, ~18% Out-of-the-money

Merck & Co Inc (MRK) Last: 109.73, Change: +0.33 (0.30%), Volume: 8.58M
Put volume: 5,339  •  Call volume: 15,999  •  Put:Call Ratio: 0.33

December 18, 2026 (796 days until expiration)

130.00 STRIKE CALL
Bid
7.50		 Ask
7.90		 Bid/Ask Size
10 x 5		 Implied Volatility
21%		 Last
7.70		 Volume
24		 Open Interest
160
 MRK 12-Month Stock Chart:
Current Odds Call Expires Worthless:
60% 
A $1 MRK Move Could Change Odds: 1%
MRK Trades Below Strike By: 18.47%
MRK Last Trade: 109.73
MRK Current Dividend Yield: 2.81%
Total Return If Called: +25.31%
Inferred Dividend Yield At Exit Price: 2.24%
YieldBoost** At Bid:
(Total / Annualized)
6.83%/3.13%
 130.00 Strike Call Trading History:
  Odds Of Expiring Worthless History:
  = in-the-money
« Back to different call strikes in option month

** Represents the hypothetical return generated by the option premium, as a percentage of the current stock price, assuming the call option were to expire worthless. The values in this column are grayed out for in-the-money options reflecting the fact that the stock is at high risk to be called away at any time, whereas the YieldBoost calculation requires the call option to expire worthless and never be exercised.

"Odds" shown are based entirely on technical analysis of the underlying stock, its price history and implied volatility, its current quote data, its current options chain data and associated greeks and implied greeks including delta, gamma, vega, and rho. No fundamental business-level data for the company itself is considered. In other words this value shown is purely based upon observable market data past and present, which is never a guarantee of future price movement and is therefore merely a research tool investors can utilize in combination with other forms of analysis. Market data is inherently error prone, and none of the information presented should be considered to be free of errors or relied upon for any investing decisions. None of the information contained herein constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person.

Open MRK Options Chain (in a new window) »

Top YieldBoost CALLS of the Dow Components - Slide 1 of 15 | www.StockOptionsChannel.com | Copyright © 2012 - 2024, All Rights Reserved

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