How are AR 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 AR butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 38.74%), the computed maximum profit is $163.21 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$32.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a AR butterfly?

The breakeven for the AR butterfly priced on this page is roughly $36.33 and $39.68 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 AR market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 11.11%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current AR implied volatility affect this butterfly?

AR ATM IV is at 38.74% with IV rank near 29.97%, 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.

AR Butterfly Strategy

AR (Antero Resources Corporation), in the Energy sector, (Oil & Gas Exploration & Production industry), listed on NYSE.

Antero Resources Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas company, acquires, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, natural gas liquids, and oil properties in the United States. As of December 31, 2021, it had approximately 502,000 net acres in the Appalachian Basin; and 174,000 net acres in the Upper Devonian Shale. The company also owned and operated 494 miles of gas gathering pipelines in the Appalachian Basin; and 21 compressor stations. It had estimated proved reserves of 17.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent, including 10.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas; 718 million barrels of assumed recovered ethane; 501 million barrels of primarily propane, isobutane, normal butane, and natural gasoline; and 36 million barrels of oil. The company was formerly known as Antero Resources Appalachian Corporation and changed its name to Antero Resources Corporation in June 2013. Antero Resources Corporation was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

AR (Antero Resources Corporation) trades in the Energy sector, specifically Oil & Gas Exploration & Production, with a market capitalization of approximately $11.38B, a trailing P/E of 11.80, a beta of 0.36 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 29.1-45.75, average daily share volume of 5.7M, a public-listing history dating back to 2013, approximately 616 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how AR stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.36 indicates AR has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure. The trailing P/E of 11.80 is on the value side, where IV often compresses outside event windows because forward growth expectations are already discounted into the share price.

What is a butterfly on AR?

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 AR snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $38.23, ATM IV 38.74%, IV rank 29.97%, expected move 11.11%. The butterfly on AR 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 28-day expiry.

Why this butterfly structure on AR specifically: AR IV at 38.74% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a AR butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 11.11% (roughly $4.25 on the underlying). The 28-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated AR expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on AR should anchor to the underlying notional of $38.23 per share and to the trader's directional view on AR stock.

AR butterfly setup

The AR 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 AR near $38.23, the first option leg uses a $36.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed AR chain at a 28-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 AR shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$36.00	$2.98
Sell 2	Call	$38.00	$1.83
Buy 1	Call	$40.00	$1.00

AR butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$32.50
Max Profit (per contract): $163.21
Max Loss (per contract): -$32.50
Breakeven(s): $36.33, $39.68
Risk / Reward Ratio: 5.022

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.

AR butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on AR. 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%	-$32.50
$8.46	-77.9%	-$32.50
$16.91	-55.8%	-$32.50
$25.37	-33.7%	-$32.50
$33.82	-11.5%	-$32.50
$42.27	+10.6%	-$32.50
$50.72	+32.7%	-$32.50
$59.17	+54.8%	-$32.50
$67.62	+76.9%	-$32.50
$76.08	+99.0%	-$32.50

When traders use butterfly on AR

Butterflies on AR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect AR 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.

AR thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for AR extends from approximately $33.98 on the downside to $42.48 on the upside. A AR long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if AR settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current AR IV rank near 29.97% 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 AR at 38.74%. As a Energy name, AR options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to AR-specific events.

AR 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. AR positions also carry Energy sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move AR alongside the broader basket even when AR-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current AR chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on AR?: A butterfly on AR is the butterfly strategy applied to AR (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 AR stock trading near $38.23, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed AR chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are AR 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 AR butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 38.74%), the computed maximum profit is $163.21 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$32.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a AR butterfly?: The breakeven for the AR butterfly priced on this page is roughly $36.33 and $39.68 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 AR market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 11.11%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on AR?: Butterflies on AR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect AR 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 AR implied volatility affect this butterfly?: AR ATM IV is at 38.74% with IV rank near 29.97%, 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.