IMCG Long Put Strategy
IMCG (iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF endeavors to match the investment outcomes of a specific index. This index consists of U.S. equities from mid-capitalization firms that demonstrate significant growth potential.
IMCG (iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.15B, a beta of 1.13 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 75.67-100.2999, average daily share volume of 110K, a public-listing history dating back to 2004. These structural characteristics shape how IMCG etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.13 places IMCG roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. IMCG pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a long put on IMCG?
A long put buys downside exposure with a fixed maximum loss equal to the premium paid; profit accrues if the underlying closes below the strike minus premium at expiration.
IMCG snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $100.48, ATM IV 16.50%, IV rank 1.33%, expected move 4.73%. The long put on IMCG below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 7-day expiry.
Why this long put structure on IMCG specifically: IMCG IV at 16.50% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a IMCG long put, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 4.73% (roughly $4.75 on the underlying). The 7-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated IMCG expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on IMCG should anchor to the underlying notional of $100.48 per share and to the trader's directional view on IMCG etf.
IMCG long put setup
The IMCG long put below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With IMCG at $100.48 on that close, the first option leg uses a $100.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed IMCG chain at a 7-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 IMCG shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Put | $100.00 | $1.33 |
IMCG long put risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$133.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $9,866.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$133.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $98.67
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 74.180
Max profit equals the strike minus premium times 100 (reached at zero); max loss equals the premium times 100. Breakeven is strike minus premium.
IMCG long put payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the long put on IMCG. 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% | +$9,866.00 |
| $22.23 | -77.9% | +$7,644.44 |
| $44.44 | -55.8% | +$5,422.88 |
| $66.66 | -33.7% | +$3,201.33 |
| $88.87 | -11.6% | +$979.77 |
| $111.09 | +10.6% | -$133.00 |
| $133.30 | +32.7% | -$133.00 |
| $155.52 | +54.8% | -$133.00 |
| $177.73 | +76.9% | -$133.00 |
| $199.95 | +99.0% | -$133.00 |
When traders use long put on IMCG
Long puts on IMCG hedge an existing long IMCG etf position or express a bearish view with defined risk; position sizing typically scales the put notional to the underlying IMCG exposure being hedged.
IMCG thesis for this long put
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for IMCG extends from approximately $95.73 on the downside to $105.23 on the upside. A IMCG long put expresses a directional view that the underlying closes below the strike minus premium at expiration, frequently sized to hedge an existing long IMCG position with one put per 100 shares held. Current IMCG IV rank near 1.33% 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 IMCG at 16.50%. As a Financial Services name, IMCG options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to IMCG-specific events.
IMCG long put positions are structurally bearish; 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. IMCG positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move IMCG alongside the broader basket even when IMCG-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Long-premium structures like a long put on IMCG are particularly exposed to IV-crush risk through scheduled events (earnings, FDA decisions, central-bank meetings) where IV typically contracts post-event regardless of the directional outcome. Always rebuild the position from current IMCG chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a long put on IMCG?
- A long put on IMCG is the long put strategy applied to IMCG (etf). The strategy is structurally bearish: A long put buys downside exposure with a fixed maximum loss equal to the premium paid; profit accrues if the underlying closes below the strike minus premium at expiration. With IMCG etf at $100.48 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed IMCG chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are IMCG long put max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the strike minus premium times 100 (reached at zero); max loss equals the premium times 100. Breakeven is strike minus premium. For the IMCG long put priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 16.50%), the computed maximum profit is $9,866.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$133.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a IMCG long put?
- The breakeven for the IMCG long put priced on this page is roughly $98.67 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain's premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The IMCG market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 4.73%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a long put on IMCG?
- Long puts on IMCG hedge an existing long IMCG etf position or express a bearish view with defined risk; position sizing typically scales the put notional to the underlying IMCG exposure being hedged.
- How does current IMCG implied volatility affect this long put?
- IMCG ATM IV is at 16.50% with IV rank near 1.33%, 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.