ARCT Cash-Secured Put Strategy

ARCT (Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on RNA-based medicines, developing a pipeline of vaccines for infectious diseases alongside treatments for rare liver and respiratory conditions across the United States. Its notable development programs encompass LUNAR-OTC, designed for ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency, and LUNAR-CF, targeting cystic fibrosis lung disease caused by specific CFTR gene mutations. The company also advances vaccine initiatives such as LUNAR-COV19 and LUNAR-FLU. Arcturus has cultivated a range of strategic collaborations, including partnerships with Vinbiocare Biotechnology Joint Stock Company for manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., to create nucleic acid-based therapies for hepatitis B virus; Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc., for developing mRNA therapeutics aimed at rare disease targets; CureVac AG, to progress mRNA therapeutic and vaccine candidates across various indications; the Singapore Economic Development Board and Duke-NUS Medical School, specifically for the LUNAR-COV19 vaccine; and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., focused on discovering siRNA medicines for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Founded in 2013, Arcturus Therapeutics maintains its corporate headquarters in San Diego, California.

ARCT (Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $233.9M, a beta of 2.27 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 5.5-24.17, average daily share volume of 470K, a public-listing history dating back to 2013, approximately 109 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 2.27 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. ARCT pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a cash-secured put on ARCT?

A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike.

ARCT snapshot

As of August 14, 2026, spot at $8.23, ATM IV 79.80%, IV rank 12.63%, expected move 22.88%. The cash-secured put on ARCT below is built from the 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 cash-secured put structure on ARCT specifically: ARCT IV at 79.80% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling ARCT cash-secured put collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 22.88% (roughly $1.88 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 ARCT expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on ARCT should anchor to the underlying notional of $8.23 per share and to the trader's directional view on ARCT stock.

ARCT cash-secured put setup

The ARCT cash-secured put 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 at $8.23 on that close, the first option leg uses a $7.82 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 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 ARCT shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

ActionTypeStrike / BasisPremium (est)
Sell 1Put$7.82N/A

ARCT cash-secured put 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 premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.

ARCT cash-secured put payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put 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 cash-secured put on ARCT

Cash-secured puts on ARCT earn premium while a trader waits to acquire ARCT stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning ARCT.

ARCT thesis for this cash-secured put

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ARCT extends from approximately $6.35 on the downside to $10.11 on the upside. A ARCT cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire ARCT at the strike price; the strategy is most attractive when the trader is comfortable holding the underlying at that level and IV is rich enough to compensate for the assignment risk. Current ARCT IV rank near 12.63% 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 79.80%. 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 cash-secured put positions are structurally neutral to slightly bullish; 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. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on ARCT carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical ARCT earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current ARCT chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a cash-secured put on ARCT?
A cash-secured put on ARCT is the cash-secured put strategy applied to ARCT (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral to slightly bullish: A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike. With ARCT stock at $8.23 on the most recent close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed ARCT chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
How are ARCT cash-secured put max profit and max loss calculated?
Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium. For the ARCT cash-secured put priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 79.80%), 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 cash-secured put?
The breakeven for the ARCT cash-secured put priced on this page is no defined breakeven on the modeled curve at expiration, derived from the 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 ARCT market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 22.88%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a cash-secured put on ARCT?
Cash-secured puts on ARCT earn premium while a trader waits to acquire ARCT stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning ARCT.
How does current ARCT implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
ARCT ATM IV is at 79.80% with IV rank near 12.63%, 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.

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