Protective Call

bearish1 leg

Also known as: Married Call

Short shares + buy call as upside hedge. Caps loss if the stock rallies.

Payoff shape at expiration (illustrative)

Shape illustration on a normalized underlying — open the Lab below to price it on a real option chain.

How it works

Short stock plus a long call as insurance: the call caps how much a rally can hurt the short position.

When to use it

When holding a short stock position through event risk you cannot ignore.

What can go wrong

The insurance premium is a drag on the position; maximum loss becomes defined (strike minus entry, plus premium).

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Educational content — not investment advice. Options involve substantial risk and are not suitable for every investor. All trading on Opus Options Trading is simulated.