ACRS Straddle Strategy
ACRS (Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Diagnostics & Research industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. operates a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops novel drug candidates for immune-inflammatory diseases in the United States. It operates through two segments: Therapeutics and Contract Research. The Therapeutics segment is involved in identifying and developing innovative therapies to address significant unmet needs for immuno-inflammatory diseases. The Contract Research segment engages in the provision of laboratory services. The company also develops Zunsemetinib, an MK2 inhibitor for the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid and Psoriatic arthritis, and Hidradenitis suppurativa; and ATI-1777, a soft JAK 1/3 inhibitor for the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. In addition, it develops ATI-2138, an ITK/TXK/JAK3 inhibitor as a potential treatment for T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases; Gut-Biased Program for inflammatory bowel disease; and ATI-2231, an MK2 inhibitor treatment for pancreatic and metastatic breast cancer.
ACRS (Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Diagnostics & Research, with a market capitalization of approximately $613.8M, a beta of 0.78 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 1.16-5.12, average daily share volume of 1.9M, a public-listing history dating back to 2015, approximately 61 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how ACRS stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.78 places ACRS roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline.
What is a straddle on ACRS?
A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration.
Current ACRS snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $4.56, ATM IV 115.90%, IV rank 28.61%, expected move 33.23%. The straddle on ACRS 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 straddle structure on ACRS specifically: ACRS IV at 115.90% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a ACRS straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 33.23% (roughly $1.52 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 ACRS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on ACRS should anchor to the underlying notional of $4.56 per share and to the trader's directional view on ACRS stock.
ACRS straddle setup
The ACRS straddle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With ACRS near $4.56, the first option leg uses a $4.56 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed ACRS 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 ACRS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $4.56 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Put | $4.56 | N/A |
ACRS straddle 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
Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit.
ACRS straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on ACRS. 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 straddle on ACRS
Straddles on ACRS are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy ACRS straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
ACRS thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ACRS extends from approximately $3.04 on the downside to $6.08 on the upside. A ACRS long straddle is a pure-volatility play: it profits when the underlying moves far enough from the strike in either direction to overcome the combined call plus put debit, regardless of direction. Current ACRS IV rank near 28.61% 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 ACRS at 115.90%. As a Healthcare name, ACRS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to ACRS-specific events.
ACRS straddle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium); 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. ACRS positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move ACRS alongside the broader basket even when ACRS-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current ACRS chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on ACRS?
- A straddle on ACRS is the straddle strategy applied to ACRS (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium): A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration. With ACRS stock trading near $4.56, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed ACRS chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are ACRS straddle max profit and max loss calculated?
- Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit. For the ACRS straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 115.90%), 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 ACRS straddle?
- The breakeven for the ACRS straddle 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 ACRS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 33.23%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on ACRS?
- Straddles on ACRS are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy ACRS straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
- How does current ACRS implied volatility affect this straddle?
- ACRS ATM IV is at 115.90% with IV rank near 28.61%, 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.