UPSX Strangle Strategy

UPSX (Investment Managers Series Trust II - Tradr 2X Long UPST Daily ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on CBOE.

UPSX is a short-term tactical tool that aims to deliver twice (200%) the daily performance of Upstart Holdings (UPST), before fees and expenses. The fund primarily enters into total return swap agreements with major global financial institutions that mirror UPSTs daily returns. In case swaps are unavailable or less efficient, the fund may use FLEX call options or directly hold UPST stock. Purchasers holding shares for longer than a day will need to monitor and rebalance their position frequently to attempt to achieve the 2x multiple. Purchasers should conduct their own individual stock research prior to initiating a position and trade with conviction. Due to the complexities of the product, shares tend to perform as anticipated only when the underlying shares are trending and holders are on the positive corresponding side of that trade.

UPSX (Investment Managers Series Trust II - Tradr 2X Long UPST Daily ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $14.7M, a beta of 4.27 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 8.55-90.2, average daily share volume of 68K, a public-listing history dating back to 2025. These structural characteristics shape how UPSX etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 4.27 indicates UPSX 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 strangle on UPSX?

A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money.

UPSX snapshot

As of September 29, 2026, spot at $8.79, ATM IV 117.20%, IV rank 8.96%, expected move 33.60%. The strangle on UPSX below is built from the September 29, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 17-day expiry.

Why this strangle structure on UPSX specifically: UPSX IV at 117.20% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a UPSX strangle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 33.60% (roughly $2.95 on the underlying). The 17-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated UPSX expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on UPSX should anchor to the underlying notional of $8.79 per share and to the trader's directional view on UPSX etf.

UPSX strangle setup

The UPSX strangle below is built from the September 29, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With UPSX at $8.79 on that close, the first option leg uses a $9.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed UPSX chain at a 17-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 UPSX shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

ActionTypeStrike / BasisPremium (est)
Buy 1Call$9.00$0.85
Buy 1Put$8.00$0.50

UPSX strangle risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit
-$135.00
Max Profit (per contract)
Unbounded
Max Loss (per contract)
-$135.00
Breakeven(s)
$6.65, $10.35
Risk / Reward Ratio
Unbounded

Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit.

UPSX strangle payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the strangle on UPSX. 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.

UPSX strangle profit and loss curve at expiration with breakevens and current spot markedUPSX strangle payoff at expiration$0$200$400$600$2$4$6$8$10$12$14$16Underlying Price ($)P&L at Expiration ($)BE $6.65BE $10.35Spot $8.79
P&L at expiration across the modeled underlying-price range. Green shading marks profitable regions, red shading marks loss regions. Dotted purple verticals mark breakevens; the solid dark vertical marks current spot.
Underlying Price% From SpotP&L at Expiration
$0.01-99.9%+$664.00
$1.95-77.8%+$469.76
$3.89-55.7%+$275.52
$5.84-33.6%+$81.28
$7.78-11.5%-$112.96
$9.72+10.6%-$62.79
$11.66+32.7%+$131.45
$13.61+54.8%+$325.69
$15.55+76.9%+$519.93
$17.49+99.0%+$714.17

When traders use strangle on UPSX

Strangles on UPSX are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the UPSX chain.

UPSX thesis for this strangle

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for UPSX extends from approximately $5.84 on the downside to $11.74 on the upside. A UPSX long strangle is the OTM cousin of the straddle: lower up-front cost but the underlying has to travel further past either OTM strike before the position turns profitable at expiration. Current UPSX IV rank near 8.96% 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 UPSX at 117.20%. As a Financial Services name, UPSX options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to UPSX-specific events.

UPSX strangle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium, OTM); 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. UPSX positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move UPSX alongside the broader basket even when UPSX-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current UPSX chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a strangle on UPSX?
A strangle on UPSX is the strangle strategy applied to UPSX (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium, OTM): A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money. With UPSX etf at $8.79 on the September 29, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed UPSX chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
How are UPSX strangle max profit and max loss calculated?
Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit. For the UPSX strangle priced from the September 29, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 117.20%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$135.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a UPSX strangle?
The breakeven for the UPSX strangle priced on this page is roughly $6.65 and $10.35 at expiration, derived from the September 29, 2026 end-of-day chain's premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The UPSX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 33.60%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a strangle on UPSX?
Strangles on UPSX are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the UPSX chain.
How does current UPSX implied volatility affect this strangle?
UPSX ATM IV is at 117.20% with IV rank near 8.96%, 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.

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