USRD Butterfly Strategy
USRD (Themes US R&D Champions ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on NASDAQ.
The index is designed to provide exposure to U.S. companies in the large- and mid- capitalization segments that rank in the top 50 companies based on the index Provider’s R&D intensity metric. The fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in securities that comprise the index. The fund is non-diversified.
USRD (Themes US R&D Champions ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.0M, a beta of 1.21 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 29.785-36.234, average daily share volume of 0K, a public-listing history dating back to 2023. These structural characteristics shape how USRD etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.21 places USRD roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. USRD pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on USRD?
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 USRD snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $23.57, ATM IV 266.00%, IV rank 51.31%, expected move 76.26%. The butterfly on USRD 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 USRD specifically: USRD IV at 266.00% 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 76.26% (roughly $17.97 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 USRD expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on USRD should anchor to the underlying notional of $23.57 per share and to the trader's directional view on USRD etf.
USRD butterfly setup
The USRD 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 USRD near $23.57, the first option leg uses a $22.39 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed USRD 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 USRD shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $22.39 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $23.57 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $24.75 | N/A |
USRD butterfly 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
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.
USRD butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on USRD. 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 butterfly on USRD
Butterflies on USRD are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect USRD 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.
USRD thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for USRD extends from approximately $5.60 on the downside to $41.54 on the upside. A USRD long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if USRD settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current USRD IV rank near 51.31% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on USRD should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Financial Services name, USRD options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to USRD-specific events.
USRD 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. USRD positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move USRD alongside the broader basket even when USRD-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current USRD chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on USRD?
- A butterfly on USRD is the butterfly strategy applied to USRD (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 USRD etf trading near $23.57, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed USRD chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are USRD 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 USRD butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 266.00%), 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 USRD butterfly?
- The breakeven for the USRD butterfly 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 USRD market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 76.26%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on USRD?
- Butterflies on USRD are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect USRD 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 USRD implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- USRD ATM IV is at 266.00% with IV rank near 51.31%, 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.