UGA Butterfly Strategy
UGA (United States Gasoline Fund LP), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The fund invests in futures contracts for gasoline, other types of gasoline, crude oil, diesel-heating oil, natural gas and other petroleum-based fuels. The Benchmark Futures Contract is the futures contract on gasoline as traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange that is the near month contract to expire, except when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration.
UGA (United States Gasoline Fund LP) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $114.9M, a beta of 1.68 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 57.63-124.6, average daily share volume of 85K, a public-listing history dating back to 2008. These structural characteristics shape how UGA etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.68 indicates UGA has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position.
What is a butterfly on UGA?
A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration.
Current UGA snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $122.76, ATM IV 61.70%, IV rank 45.85%, expected move 17.69%. The butterfly on UGA 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 butterfly structure on UGA specifically: UGA IV at 61.70% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so strategy selection should anchor more to the directional thesis than to the IV regime, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 17.69% (roughly $21.71 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 UGA expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on UGA should anchor to the underlying notional of $122.76 per share and to the trader's directional view on UGA etf.
UGA butterfly setup
The UGA butterfly below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With UGA near $122.76, the first option leg uses a $117.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed UGA 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 UGA shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $117.00 | $11.60 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $123.00 | $8.40 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $129.00 | $6.25 |
UGA butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$105.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $456.81
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$105.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $118.05, $127.95
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 4.351
Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit.
UGA butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on UGA. 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% | -$105.00 |
| $27.15 | -77.9% | -$105.00 |
| $54.29 | -55.8% | -$105.00 |
| $81.44 | -33.7% | -$105.00 |
| $108.58 | -11.6% | -$105.00 |
| $135.72 | +10.6% | -$105.00 |
| $162.86 | +32.7% | -$105.00 |
| $190.00 | +54.8% | -$105.00 |
| $217.14 | +76.9% | -$105.00 |
| $244.29 | +99.0% | -$105.00 |
When traders use butterfly on UGA
Butterflies on UGA are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect UGA to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
UGA thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for UGA extends from approximately $101.05 on the downside to $144.47 on the upside. A UGA long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if UGA settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current UGA IV rank near 45.85% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on UGA should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Financial Services name, UGA options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to UGA-specific events.
UGA butterfly positions are structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward); 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. UGA positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move UGA alongside the broader basket even when UGA-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current UGA chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on UGA?
- A butterfly on UGA is the butterfly strategy applied to UGA (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward): A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration. With UGA etf trading near $122.76, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed UGA chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are UGA butterfly max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit. For the UGA butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 61.70%), the computed maximum profit is $456.81 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$105.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a UGA butterfly?
- The breakeven for the UGA butterfly priced on this page is roughly $118.05 and $127.95 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 UGA market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 17.69%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on UGA?
- Butterflies on UGA are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect UGA to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
- How does current UGA implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- UGA ATM IV is at 61.70% with IV rank near 45.85%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.