ARCT Butterfly Strategy
ARCT (Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc., an RNA medicines company, focuses on the development of vaccines for infectious, and liver and respiratory rare diseases in the United States. The company's development programs comprise LUNAR-OTC development program for ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency; and LUNAR-CF program for cystic fibrosis lung disease caused by mutations in cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, as well as vaccine programs include LUNAR-COV19 and LUNAR-FLU. It has collaboration partnerships with Vinbiocare Biotechnology Joint Stock Company for the manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop nucleic acid-based therapeutic candidates for the treatment of hepatitis B virus; Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc. to develop mRNA therapeutic candidates for rare disease targets; CureVac AG to develop mRNA therapeutic and vaccine candidates for various indications; Singapore Economic Development Board and Duke-NUS Medical School to develop LUNAR-COV19 vaccine; and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to discover siRNA medicines for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
ARCT (Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $234.8M, a beta of 2.43 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 5.85-24.17, average daily share volume of 464K, a public-listing history dating back to 2013, approximately 174 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how ARCT stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 2.43 indicates ARCT 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 ARCT?
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 ARCT snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $7.47, ATM IV 77.20%, IV rank 16.32%, expected move 22.13%. The butterfly on ARCT 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 ARCT specifically: ARCT IV at 77.20% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a ARCT butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 22.13% (roughly $1.65 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 ARCT expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on ARCT should anchor to the underlying notional of $7.47 per share and to the trader's directional view on ARCT stock.
ARCT butterfly setup
The ARCT 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 ARCT near $7.47, the first option leg uses a $7.10 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed ARCT 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 ARCT shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $7.10 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $7.47 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $7.84 | N/A |
ARCT 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.
ARCT butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on ARCT. 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 ARCT
Butterflies on ARCT are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect ARCT 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.
ARCT thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ARCT extends from approximately $5.82 on the downside to $9.12 on the upside. A ARCT long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if ARCT settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current ARCT IV rank near 16.32% 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 ARCT at 77.20%. As a Healthcare name, ARCT options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to ARCT-specific events.
ARCT 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. ARCT positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move ARCT alongside the broader basket even when ARCT-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current ARCT chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on ARCT?
- A butterfly on ARCT is the butterfly strategy applied to ARCT (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 ARCT stock trading near $7.47, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed ARCT chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are ARCT 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 ARCT butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 77.20%), 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 ARCT butterfly?
- The breakeven for the ARCT 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 ARCT market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 22.13%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on ARCT?
- Butterflies on ARCT are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect ARCT 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 ARCT implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- ARCT ATM IV is at 77.20% with IV rank near 16.32%, 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.