AARD Butterfly Strategy
AARD (Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. Common Stock), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing small-molecule therapeutics to activate innate homeostatic pathways for the treatment of metabolic diseases. Its lead product candidate is the ARD-101, an oral gut-restricted small-molecule agonist of certain targeting bitter taste receptors expressed in the gut lumen that is in Phase III clinical trial for hyperphagia associated with Prader-Willi Syndrome, as well as in Phase II clinical trial for hyperphagia associated with acquired hypothalamic obesity resultant from treatment of craniopharyngioma, including surgery or radiation. It also developing ARD-201, which is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of obesity. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is based in San Diego, California.
AARD (Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. Common Stock) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $143.8M, a beta of 5.11 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 3.35-17.94, average daily share volume of 284K, a public-listing history dating back to 2025, approximately 22 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how AARD stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 5.11 indicates AARD 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 AARD?
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 AARD snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $4.62, ATM IV 21.20%, expected move 6.08%. The butterfly on AARD 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 AARD specifically: IV rank is unavailable in the current snapshot, so regime-based timing for AARD is inferred from ATM IV at 21.20% alone, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 6.08% (roughly $0.28 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 AARD expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on AARD should anchor to the underlying notional of $4.62 per share and to the trader's directional view on AARD stock.
AARD butterfly setup
The AARD 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 AARD near $4.62, the first option leg uses a $4.39 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed AARD 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 AARD shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $4.39 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $4.62 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $4.85 | N/A |
AARD 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.
AARD butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on AARD. 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 AARD
Butterflies on AARD are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect AARD 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.
AARD thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for AARD extends from approximately $4.34 on the downside to $4.90 on the upside. A AARD long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if AARD settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. As a Healthcare name, AARD options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to AARD-specific events.
AARD 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. AARD positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move AARD alongside the broader basket even when AARD-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current AARD chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on AARD?
- A butterfly on AARD is the butterfly strategy applied to AARD (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 AARD stock trading near $4.62, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed AARD chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are AARD 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 AARD butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 21.20%), 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 AARD butterfly?
- The breakeven for the AARD 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 AARD market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 6.08%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on AARD?
- Butterflies on AARD are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect AARD 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 AARD implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- Current AARD ATM IV is 21.20%; IV rank context is unavailable in the current snapshot.