iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) Gamma Exposure (GEX) & Greeks
Gamma exposure (GEX) analysis shows how options positioning creates dealer hedging pressure across strikes. Includes delta, vanna, charm, vomma, and vega exposure by strike price.
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) operates in the Financial Services sector, specifically the Asset Management industry, with a market capitalization near $13.58B, listed on CBOE, carrying a beta of 1.02 to the broader market. The iShares U. public since 2006-05-05.
Snapshot as of May 15, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $217.49
- Net Gamma
- -$9.7M
- Net Delta
- $55.0M
- Net Vega
- -$768.2K
- Gamma Concentration
- 0.31
As of May 15, 2026, iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) has negative net gamma exposure of $9.7M under the standard dealer-hedging convention. Net delta exposure is $55.0M. Negative GEX means dealers are net short gamma: they must sell into weakness and buy into strength, amplifying realized volatility and accelerating directional moves.
ITA Strategy Sizing in the Current GEX Regime
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF is in a negative dealer-gamma regime ($9.7M). Net dealer delta of $55.0M sets the size of the directional hedging flow that fires as spot moves. In this regime, momentum and breakout strategies fit the regime: long calls or puts, ratio backspreads, calendar spreads positioned for vol expansion. Realized volatility tends to overshoot implied during negative-gamma stretches, hurting indiscriminate short-vol exposure. The gamma-flip level - the spot price at which net dealer gamma changes sign - is the most actionable anchor for sizing: through-flip moves trigger qualitatively different hedging behavior than within-regime moves, so risk-defined structures sized to the current spot may not stay sized correctly if a flip is near.
Learn how gamma exposure is reported and how to read the data →
Frequently asked ITA gamma exposure (gex) & greeks questions
- What is the current ITA gamma exposure (GEX)?
- As of May 15, 2026, iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) net gamma exposure is negative at $9.7M under the standard dealer-hedging convention. Net dealer delta exposure is $55.0M. GEX aggregates the gamma sitting on dealer books across all listed strikes and expirations.
- Is ITA in positive or negative dealer gamma right now?
- ITA is currently in negative dealer gamma. Dealers net short gamma must sell into weakness and buy into strength to maintain delta-neutrality, which amplifies realized volatility and tends to accelerate directional moves.
- What does ITA GEX tell options traders?
- GEX is a regime indicator: positive-gamma regimes favor mean-reverting strategies (premium-selling near established ranges); negative-gamma regimes favor momentum and breakout strategies. The same options-strategy structure can be appropriate or inappropriate depending on the dealer-gamma regime, so reading the sign and magnitude of net GEX before sizing positions is standard practice.