FTXL Butterfly Strategy
FTXL (First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on NASDAQ.
The First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF is an exchange-traded fund. The investment objective of the Fund is to seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield, before the Fund's fees and expenses, of an index called the Nasdaq US Smart Semiconductor Index. The Fund seeks to replicate the holdings and weightings of the Nasdaq US Smart Semiconductor Index so as to generate performance results 95% correlated to that of the Nasdaq US Smart Semiconductor Index.
FTXL (First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $646.5M, a beta of 2.16 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 80.37-249.58, average daily share volume of 235K, a public-listing history dating back to 2016. These structural characteristics shape how FTXL etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 2.16 indicates FTXL has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. FTXL pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on FTXL?
A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration.
Current FTXL snapshot
As of May 14, 2026, spot at $244.72, ATM IV 49.00%, IV rank 69.37%, expected move 14.05%. The butterfly on FTXL 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 butterfly structure on FTXL specifically: FTXL IV at 49.00% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so strategy selection should anchor more to the directional thesis than to the IV regime, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 14.05% (roughly $34.38 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 FTXL expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on FTXL should anchor to the underlying notional of $244.72 per share and to the trader's directional view on FTXL etf.
FTXL butterfly setup
The FTXL butterfly below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With FTXL near $244.72, the first option leg uses a $230.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed FTXL 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 FTXL shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $230.00 | $18.20 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $245.00 | $10.90 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $255.00 | $7.35 |
FTXL butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$375.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $1,029.53
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$375.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $233.75
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 2.745
Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit.
FTXL butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on FTXL. 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 | -100.0% | -$375.00 |
| $54.12 | -77.9% | -$375.00 |
| $108.23 | -55.8% | -$375.00 |
| $162.33 | -33.7% | -$375.00 |
| $216.44 | -11.6% | -$375.00 |
| $270.55 | +10.6% | +$125.00 |
| $324.66 | +32.7% | +$125.00 |
| $378.76 | +54.8% | +$125.00 |
| $432.87 | +76.9% | +$125.00 |
| $486.98 | +99.0% | +$125.00 |
When traders use butterfly on FTXL
Butterflies on FTXL are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect FTXL to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
FTXL thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for FTXL extends from approximately $210.34 on the downside to $279.10 on the upside. A FTXL long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if FTXL settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current FTXL IV rank near 69.37% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on FTXL should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Financial Services name, FTXL options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to FTXL-specific events.
FTXL butterfly positions are structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward); 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. FTXL positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move FTXL alongside the broader basket even when FTXL-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current FTXL chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on FTXL?
- A butterfly on FTXL is the butterfly strategy applied to FTXL (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward): A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration. With FTXL etf trading near $244.72, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed FTXL chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are FTXL butterfly max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit. For the FTXL butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 49.00%), the computed maximum profit is $1,029.53 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$375.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a FTXL butterfly?
- The breakeven for the FTXL butterfly priced on this page is roughly $233.75 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 FTXL market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 14.05%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on FTXL?
- Butterflies on FTXL are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect FTXL to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
- How does current FTXL implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- FTXL ATM IV is at 49.00% with IV rank near 69.37%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.