IJR Butterfly Strategy
IJR (iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of small-capitalization U.S. equities.
IJR (iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $102.21B, a beta of 1.17 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 102.57-139.49, average daily share volume of 5.9M, a public-listing history dating back to 2000. These structural characteristics shape how IJR etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.17 places IJR roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. IJR pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on IJR?
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 IJR snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $134.19, ATM IV 19.80%, IV rank 3.83%, expected move 5.68%. The butterfly on IJR 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 IJR specifically: IJR IV at 19.80% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a IJR butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 5.68% (roughly $7.62 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 IJR expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on IJR should anchor to the underlying notional of $134.19 per share and to the trader's directional view on IJR etf.
IJR butterfly setup
The IJR 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 IJR near $134.19, the first option leg uses a $127.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed IJR 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 IJR shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $127.00 | $8.85 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $134.00 | $3.75 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $141.00 | $0.70 |
IJR butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$205.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $447.07
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$205.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $129.05, $138.95
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 2.181
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.
IJR butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on IJR. 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% | -$205.00 |
| $29.68 | -77.9% | -$205.00 |
| $59.35 | -55.8% | -$205.00 |
| $89.02 | -33.7% | -$205.00 |
| $118.69 | -11.6% | -$205.00 |
| $148.36 | +10.6% | -$205.00 |
| $178.02 | +32.7% | -$205.00 |
| $207.69 | +54.8% | -$205.00 |
| $237.36 | +76.9% | -$205.00 |
| $267.03 | +99.0% | -$205.00 |
When traders use butterfly on IJR
Butterflies on IJR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect IJR 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.
IJR thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for IJR extends from approximately $126.57 on the downside to $141.81 on the upside. A IJR long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if IJR settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current IJR IV rank near 3.83% 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 IJR at 19.80%. As a Financial Services name, IJR options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to IJR-specific events.
IJR 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. IJR positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move IJR alongside the broader basket even when IJR-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current IJR chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on IJR?
- A butterfly on IJR is the butterfly strategy applied to IJR (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 IJR etf trading near $134.19, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed IJR chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are IJR 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 IJR butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 19.80%), the computed maximum profit is $447.07 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$205.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a IJR butterfly?
- The breakeven for the IJR butterfly priced on this page is roughly $129.05 and $138.95 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 IJR market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 5.68%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on IJR?
- Butterflies on IJR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect IJR 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 IJR implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- IJR ATM IV is at 19.80% with IV rank near 3.83%, 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.