RXL Straddle Strategy
RXL (ProShares - Ultra Health Care), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
ProShares Ultra Health Care seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times (2x) the daily performance of the S&P Health Care Select SectorSM Index.
RXL (ProShares - Ultra Health Care) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $92.2M, a beta of 0.98 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 36.23-55.58, average daily share volume of 9K, a public-listing history dating back to 2007. These structural characteristics shape how RXL etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.98 places RXL roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. RXL pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a straddle on RXL?
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 RXL snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $45.17, ATM IV 39.70%, IV rank 23.62%, expected move 11.38%. The straddle on RXL 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 63-day expiry.
Why this straddle structure on RXL specifically: RXL IV at 39.70% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a RXL straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 11.38% (roughly $5.14 on the underlying). The 63-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated RXL expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on RXL should anchor to the underlying notional of $45.17 per share and to the trader's directional view on RXL etf.
RXL straddle setup
The RXL 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 RXL near $45.17, the first option leg uses a $45.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed RXL chain at a 63-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 RXL shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $45.00 | $2.60 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $45.00 | $2.51 |
RXL straddle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$511.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$505.80
- Breakeven(s)
- $39.89, $50.11
- 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.
RXL straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on RXL. 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% | +$3,988.00 |
| $10.00 | -77.9% | +$2,989.38 |
| $19.98 | -55.8% | +$1,990.75 |
| $29.97 | -33.7% | +$992.13 |
| $39.95 | -11.5% | -$6.49 |
| $49.94 | +10.6% | -$16.88 |
| $59.93 | +32.7% | +$981.74 |
| $69.91 | +54.8% | +$1,980.36 |
| $79.90 | +76.9% | +$2,978.98 |
| $89.89 | +99.0% | +$3,977.61 |
When traders use straddle on RXL
Straddles on RXL are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy RXL straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
RXL thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for RXL extends from approximately $40.03 on the downside to $50.31 on the upside. A RXL 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 RXL IV rank near 23.62% 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 RXL at 39.70%. As a Financial Services name, RXL options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to RXL-specific events.
RXL 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. RXL positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move RXL alongside the broader basket even when RXL-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current RXL chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on RXL?
- A straddle on RXL is the straddle strategy applied to RXL (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 RXL etf trading near $45.17, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed RXL chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are RXL 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 RXL straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 39.70%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$505.80 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a RXL straddle?
- The breakeven for the RXL straddle priced on this page is roughly $39.89 and $50.11 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 RXL market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 11.38%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on RXL?
- Straddles on RXL are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy RXL 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 RXL implied volatility affect this straddle?
- RXL ATM IV is at 39.70% with IV rank near 23.62%, 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.