HIPS Straddle Strategy
HIPS (GraniteShares HIPS US High Income ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management - Income industry), listed on AMEX.
The GraniteShares HIPS US High Income ETF seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the EQM High Income Pass-Through Securities Index*.
HIPS (GraniteShares HIPS US High Income ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management - Income, with a market capitalization of approximately $105.0M, a beta of 0.66 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 11.39-12.46, average daily share volume of 45K, a public-listing history dating back to 2015. These structural characteristics shape how HIPS etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.66 indicates HIPS has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure. HIPS pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a straddle on HIPS?
A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration.
Current HIPS snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $11.75, ATM IV 318.80%, IV rank 65.02%, expected move 14.98%. The straddle on HIPS 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 straddle structure on HIPS specifically: HIPS IV at 318.80% 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 14.98% (roughly $1.76 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 HIPS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on HIPS should anchor to the underlying notional of $11.75 per share and to the trader's directional view on HIPS etf.
HIPS straddle setup
The HIPS straddle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With HIPS near $11.75, the first option leg uses a $12.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed HIPS 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 HIPS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $12.00 | $0.40 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $12.00 | $0.50 |
HIPS straddle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$90.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$84.99
- Breakeven(s)
- $11.10, $12.90
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- Unbounded
Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit.
HIPS straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on HIPS. 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% | +$1,109.00 |
| $2.61 | -77.8% | +$849.31 |
| $5.20 | -55.7% | +$589.62 |
| $7.80 | -33.6% | +$329.93 |
| $10.40 | -11.5% | +$70.25 |
| $12.99 | +10.6% | +$9.44 |
| $15.59 | +32.7% | +$269.13 |
| $18.19 | +54.8% | +$528.82 |
| $20.79 | +76.9% | +$788.51 |
| $23.38 | +99.0% | +$1,048.20 |
When traders use straddle on HIPS
Straddles on HIPS are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy HIPS straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
HIPS thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for HIPS extends from approximately $9.99 on the downside to $13.51 on the upside. A HIPS long straddle is a pure-volatility play: it profits when the underlying moves far enough from the strike in either direction to overcome the combined call plus put debit, regardless of direction. Current HIPS IV rank near 65.02% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the straddle thesis on HIPS should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Financial Services name, HIPS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to HIPS-specific events.
HIPS straddle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium); 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. HIPS positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move HIPS alongside the broader basket even when HIPS-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current HIPS chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on HIPS?
- A straddle on HIPS is the straddle strategy applied to HIPS (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium): A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration. With HIPS etf trading near $11.75, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed HIPS chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are HIPS straddle max profit and max loss calculated?
- Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit. For the HIPS straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 318.80%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$84.99 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a HIPS straddle?
- The breakeven for the HIPS straddle priced on this page is roughly $11.10 and $12.90 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 HIPS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 14.98%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on HIPS?
- Straddles on HIPS are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy HIPS straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
- How does current HIPS implied volatility affect this straddle?
- HIPS ATM IV is at 318.80% with IV rank near 65.02%, 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.