KEMX Long Call Strategy
KEMX (KraneShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in instruments in its underlying index or in instruments that have economic characteristics similar to those in the underlying index. The underlying index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index designed to measure the equity market performance of mid- and large-cap companies of emerging market countries, excluding China.
KEMX (KraneShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $117.0M, a beta of 1.23 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 29.92-50.179, average daily share volume of 28K, a public-listing history dating back to 2019. These structural characteristics shape how KEMX etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.23 places KEMX roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. KEMX pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a long call on KEMX?
A long call buys upside exposure with a fixed maximum loss equal to the premium paid; profit accrues if the underlying closes above the strike plus premium at expiration.
Current KEMX snapshot
As of May 13, 2026, spot at $48.93, ATM IV 31.60%, IV rank 9.70%, expected move 9.06%. The long call on KEMX 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 long call structure on KEMX specifically: KEMX IV at 31.60% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a KEMX long call, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 9.06% (roughly $4.43 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 KEMX expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on KEMX should anchor to the underlying notional of $48.93 per share and to the trader's directional view on KEMX etf.
KEMX long call setup
The KEMX long call below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With KEMX near $48.93, the first option leg uses a $49.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed KEMX 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 KEMX shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $49.00 | $1.71 |
KEMX long call risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$171.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$171.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $50.71
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- Unbounded
Max profit is unbounded; max loss equals the premium paid times 100. Breakeven is strike plus premium.
KEMX long call payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the long call on KEMX. 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% | -$171.00 |
| $10.83 | -77.9% | -$171.00 |
| $21.65 | -55.8% | -$171.00 |
| $32.46 | -33.7% | -$171.00 |
| $43.28 | -11.5% | -$171.00 |
| $54.10 | +10.6% | +$338.79 |
| $64.92 | +32.7% | +$1,420.55 |
| $75.73 | +54.8% | +$2,502.31 |
| $86.55 | +76.9% | +$3,584.07 |
| $97.37 | +99.0% | +$4,665.83 |
When traders use long call on KEMX
Long calls on KEMX express a bullish thesis with defined risk; traders use them ahead of KEMX catalysts (earnings, product launches, macro events) when the expected upside justifies the premium and theta decay.
KEMX thesis for this long call
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for KEMX extends from approximately $44.50 on the downside to $53.36 on the upside. A KEMX long call expresses a directional view that the underlying closes above the strike plus premium at expiration, ideally with implied volatility holding or expanding to preserve extrinsic value through the hold period. Current KEMX IV rank near 9.70% 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 KEMX at 31.60%. As a Financial Services name, KEMX options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to KEMX-specific events.
KEMX long call positions are structurally bullish; 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. KEMX positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move KEMX alongside the broader basket even when KEMX-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Long-premium structures like a long call on KEMX 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 KEMX chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a long call on KEMX?
- A long call on KEMX is the long call strategy applied to KEMX (etf). The strategy is structurally bullish: A long call buys upside exposure with a fixed maximum loss equal to the premium paid; profit accrues if the underlying closes above the strike plus premium at expiration. With KEMX etf trading near $48.93, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed KEMX chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are KEMX long call max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit is unbounded; max loss equals the premium paid times 100. Breakeven is strike plus premium. For the KEMX long call priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 31.60%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$171.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a KEMX long call?
- The breakeven for the KEMX long call priced on this page is roughly $50.71 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 KEMX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 9.06%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a long call on KEMX?
- Long calls on KEMX express a bullish thesis with defined risk; traders use them ahead of KEMX catalysts (earnings, product launches, macro events) when the expected upside justifies the premium and theta decay.
- How does current KEMX implied volatility affect this long call?
- KEMX ATM IV is at 31.60% with IV rank near 9.70%, 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.