SEA Straddle Strategy
SEA (U.S. Global Sea to Sky Cargo ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The U.S. Global Sea to Sky Cargo ETF seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the U.S. Global Sea to Sky Cargo Index.
SEA (U.S. Global Sea to Sky Cargo ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $13.0M, a beta of 0.59 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 13.37-17.74, average daily share volume of 26K, a public-listing history dating back to 2022. These structural characteristics shape how SEA etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.59 indicates SEA has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure. SEA pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a straddle on SEA?
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 SEA snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $17.16, ATM IV 43.70%, IV rank 11.76%, expected move 12.53%. The straddle on SEA 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 straddle structure on SEA specifically: SEA IV at 43.70% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a SEA straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 12.53% (roughly $2.15 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 SEA expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on SEA should anchor to the underlying notional of $17.16 per share and to the trader's directional view on SEA etf.
SEA straddle setup
The SEA 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 SEA near $17.16, the first option leg uses a $17.16 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed SEA 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 SEA shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $17.16 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Put | $17.16 | N/A |
SEA straddle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- N/A
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Breakeven(s)
- None on modeled curve
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- N/A
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.
SEA straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on SEA. 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.
When traders use straddle on SEA
Straddles on SEA are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy SEA straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
SEA thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for SEA extends from approximately $15.01 on the downside to $19.31 on the upside. A SEA 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 SEA IV rank near 11.76% 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 SEA at 43.70%. As a Financial Services name, SEA options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to SEA-specific events.
SEA 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. SEA positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move SEA alongside the broader basket even when SEA-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current SEA chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on SEA?
- A straddle on SEA is the straddle strategy applied to SEA (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 SEA etf trading near $17.16, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed SEA chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are SEA 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 SEA straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 43.70%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is unbounded per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a SEA straddle?
- The breakeven for the SEA straddle priced on this page is no defined breakeven on the modeled curve 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 SEA market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 12.53%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on SEA?
- Straddles on SEA are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy SEA 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 SEA implied volatility affect this straddle?
- SEA ATM IV is at 43.70% with IV rank near 11.76%, 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.