ARE Butterfly Strategy
ARE (Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.), in the Real Estate sector, (REIT - Office industry), listed on NYSE.
Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE), an S&P 500® urban office real estate investment trust (REIT), is the first, longest-tenured, and pioneering owner, operator, and developer uniquely focused on collaborative life science, technology, and agtech campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, with a total market capitalization of $31.9 billion as of December 31, 2020, and an asset base in North America of 49.7 million square feet (SF). The asset base in North America includes 31.9 million RSF of operating properties and 3.3 million RSF of Class A properties undergoing construction, 7.1 million RSF of near-term and intermediate-term development and redevelopment projects, and 7.4 million SF of future development projects. Founded in 1994, Alexandria pioneered this niche and has since established a significant market presence in key locations, including Greater Boston, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle. Alexandria has a longstanding and proven track record of developing Class A properties clustered in urban life science, technology, and agtech campuses that provide our innovative tenants with highly dynamic and collaborative environments that enhance their ability to successfully recruit and retain world-class talent and inspire productivity, efficiency, creativity, and success. Alexandria also provides strategic capital to transformative life science, technology, and agtech companies through our venture capital platform. We believe our unique business model and diligent underwriting ensure a high-quality and diverse tenant base that results in higher occupancy levels, longer lease terms, higher rental income, higher returns, and greater long-term asset value.
ARE (Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.) trades in the Real Estate sector, specifically REIT - Office, with a market capitalization of approximately $8.24B, a beta of 1.14 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 39.41-88.24, average daily share volume of 2.5M, a public-listing history dating back to 1997, approximately 552 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how ARE stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.14 places ARE roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. ARE pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on ARE?
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 ARE snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $44.88, ATM IV 41.70%, IV rank 47.20%, expected move 11.96%. The butterfly on ARE 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 63-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on ARE specifically: ARE IV at 41.70% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so strategy selection should anchor more to the directional thesis than to the IV regime, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 11.96% (roughly $5.37 on the underlying). The 63-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated ARE expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on ARE should anchor to the underlying notional of $44.88 per share and to the trader's directional view on ARE stock.
ARE butterfly setup
The ARE 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 ARE near $44.88, the first option leg uses a $42.50 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed ARE chain at a 63-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 ARE shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $42.50 | $5.10 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $45.00 | $3.13 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $47.50 | $2.03 |
ARE butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$87.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $151.45
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$87.50
- Breakeven(s)
- $43.38, $46.63
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.731
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.
ARE butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on ARE. 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% | -$87.50 |
| $9.93 | -77.9% | -$87.50 |
| $19.85 | -55.8% | -$87.50 |
| $29.78 | -33.7% | -$87.50 |
| $39.70 | -11.5% | -$87.50 |
| $49.62 | +10.6% | -$87.50 |
| $59.54 | +32.7% | -$87.50 |
| $69.46 | +54.8% | -$87.50 |
| $79.39 | +76.9% | -$87.50 |
| $89.31 | +99.0% | -$87.50 |
When traders use butterfly on ARE
Butterflies on ARE are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect ARE 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.
ARE thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ARE extends from approximately $39.51 on the downside to $50.25 on the upside. A ARE long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if ARE settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current ARE IV rank near 47.20% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on ARE should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Real Estate name, ARE options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to ARE-specific events.
ARE 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. ARE positions also carry Real Estate sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move ARE alongside the broader basket even when ARE-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current ARE chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on ARE?
- A butterfly on ARE is the butterfly strategy applied to ARE (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 ARE stock trading near $44.88, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed ARE chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are ARE 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 ARE butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 41.70%), the computed maximum profit is $151.45 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$87.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a ARE butterfly?
- The breakeven for the ARE butterfly priced on this page is roughly $43.38 and $46.63 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 ARE market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 11.96%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on ARE?
- Butterflies on ARE are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect ARE 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 ARE implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- ARE ATM IV is at 41.70% with IV rank near 47.20%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.