EKG Collar Strategy
EKG (First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on NASDAQ.
The First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF (the "Fund") seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund's fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq Lux Health Tech Index (the "Index"). The Fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the Index.
EKG (First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.4M, a beta of 1.49 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 15.735-20.3, average daily share volume of 0K, a public-listing history dating back to 2022. These structural characteristics shape how EKG etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.49 indicates EKG has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position.
What is a collar on EKG?
A collar pairs long stock with a protective out-of-the-money put financed by a short out-of-the-money call, capping both tails of the position around the current spot.
Current EKG snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $15.77, ATM IV 24.90%, IV rank 2.47%, expected move 7.14%. The collar on EKG below is built from the same end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 34-day expiry.
Why this collar structure on EKG specifically: IV regime affects collar pricing on both sides; compressed EKG IV at 24.90% typically pushes the short call premium to roughly offset the long put cost, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 7.14% (roughly $1.13 on the underlying). The 34-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated EKG expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on EKG should anchor to the underlying notional of $15.77 per share and to the trader's directional view on EKG etf.
EKG collar setup
The EKG collar below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With EKG near $15.77, the first option leg uses a $17.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed EKG chain at a 34-day expiry; the cross-strike IV skew is reflected directly in the per-leg values rather than approximated. Quantity sizing assumes one contract per option leg (or 100 EKG shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $15.77 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $17.00 | $0.38 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $15.00 | $0.49 |
EKG collar risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$1,588.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $112.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$88.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $15.88
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.273
Max profit roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium.
EKG collar payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the collar on EKG. Each row is one sampled price point from the computed payoff curve; the full curve uses 200 price points internally before being summarized into 10 rows here.
| Underlying Price | % From Spot | P&L at Expiration |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01 | -99.9% | -$88.00 |
| $3.50 | -77.8% | -$88.00 |
| $6.98 | -55.7% | -$88.00 |
| $10.47 | -33.6% | -$88.00 |
| $13.95 | -11.5% | -$88.00 |
| $17.44 | +10.6% | +$112.00 |
| $20.92 | +32.7% | +$112.00 |
| $24.41 | +54.8% | +$112.00 |
| $27.90 | +76.9% | +$112.00 |
| $31.38 | +99.0% | +$112.00 |
When traders use collar on EKG
Collars on EKG hedge an existing long EKG etf position; the long put sets a floor while the short call finances it, often run as a near-zero-cost hedge during expected volatility windows.
EKG thesis for this collar
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for EKG extends from approximately $14.64 on the downside to $16.90 on the upside. A EKG collar hedges an existing long EKG position with a protective put while financing the put cost via a short call; when the premiums roughly offset, the collar acts as a near-zero-cost insurance band around the current spot. Current EKG IV rank near 2.47% sits in the lower third of its 1-year distribution, where IV often re-expands toward the mean; this favors premium-buying structures and disadvantages premium-selling structures on EKG at 24.90%. As a Financial Services name, EKG options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to EKG-specific events.
EKG collar positions are structurally neutral (protective); the modeled P&L assumes European-style exercise at expiration and ignores early assignment, transaction costs, dividends paid before expiry on the stock leg (when present), and the bid-ask spread on the listed chain. EKG positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move EKG alongside the broader basket even when EKG-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current EKG chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a collar on EKG?
- A collar on EKG is the collar strategy applied to EKG (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral (protective): A collar pairs long stock with a protective out-of-the-money put financed by a short out-of-the-money call, capping both tails of the position around the current spot. With EKG etf trading near $15.77, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed EKG chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are EKG collar max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium. For the EKG collar priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 24.90%), the computed maximum profit is $112.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$88.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a EKG collar?
- The breakeven for the EKG collar priced on this page is roughly $15.88 at expiration, derived from end-of-day chain premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The current EKG market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 7.14%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a collar on EKG?
- Collars on EKG hedge an existing long EKG etf position; the long put sets a floor while the short call finances it, often run as a near-zero-cost hedge during expected volatility windows.
- How does current EKG implied volatility affect this collar?
- EKG ATM IV is at 24.90% with IV rank near 2.47%, which is on the low end of its 1-year range. Premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are relatively cheap in this regime; premium-selling structures collect less credit per unit risk.