A Butterfly Strategy
A (Agilent Technologies, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Diagnostics & Research industry), listed on NYSE.
Agilent Technologies, Inc. delivers specialized, application-focused technologies and services to the global life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemistry industries. Its Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment provides a comprehensive portfolio of analytical instrumentation. This includes liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC) systems, often integrated with mass spectrometry (MS) for advanced analysis (LC-MS, GC-MS). They also offer inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), atomic absorption (AA), microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (MP-AES), and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) instruments, alongside Raman spectroscopy for material characterization. Beyond spectroscopy, the segment supplies cell analysis solutions such as plate-based assays, flow cytometers, real-time cell analyzers, imaging systems, and microplate readers. Complementing these are various laboratory software, information management platforms, data analytics tools, automated and robotic lab systems, dissolution testing equipment, vacuum technology, and general measurement solutions.
A (Agilent Technologies, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Diagnostics & Research, with a market capitalization of approximately $41.96B, a trailing P/E of 29.73, a beta of 1.23 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 108.35-160.27, average daily share volume of 2.2M, a public-listing history dating back to 1999, approximately 18K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how A stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.23 places A roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. A pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on A?
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.
A snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $148.75, ATM IV 35.50%, IV rank 51.04%, expected move 10.18%. The butterfly on A below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 35-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on A specifically: A IV at 35.50% 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 10.18% (roughly $15.14 on the underlying). The 35-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated A expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on A should anchor to the underlying notional of $148.75 per share and to the trader's directional view on A stock.
A butterfly setup
The A butterfly below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With A at $148.75 on that close, the first option leg uses a $140.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed A chain at a 35-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 A shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $140.00 | $12.20 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $150.00 | $6.15 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $155.00 | $4.10 |
A butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$400.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $550.25
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$400.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $144.00
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.376
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.
A butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on A. 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% | -$400.00 |
| $32.90 | -77.9% | -$400.00 |
| $65.79 | -55.8% | -$400.00 |
| $98.68 | -33.7% | -$400.00 |
| $131.56 | -11.6% | -$400.00 |
| $164.45 | +10.6% | +$100.00 |
| $197.34 | +32.7% | +$100.00 |
| $230.23 | +54.8% | +$100.00 |
| $263.12 | +76.9% | +$100.00 |
| $296.01 | +99.0% | +$100.00 |
When traders use butterfly on A
Butterflies on A are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect A 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.
A thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for A extends from approximately $133.61 on the downside to $163.89 on the upside. A A long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if A settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current A IV rank near 51.04% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on A should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Healthcare name, A options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to A-specific events.
A 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. A positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move A alongside the broader basket even when A-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current A chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on A?
- A butterfly on A is the butterfly strategy applied to A (stock). 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 A stock at $148.75 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed A chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are A 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 A butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 35.50%), the computed maximum profit is $550.25 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$400.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a A butterfly?
- The breakeven for the A butterfly priced on this page is roughly $144.00 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 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 A market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 10.18%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on A?
- Butterflies on A are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect A 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 A implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- A ATM IV is at 35.50% with IV rank near 51.04%, 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.