ASC Straddle Strategy
ASC (Ardmore Shipping Corporation), in the Industrials sector, (Marine Shipping industry), listed on NYSE.
Ardmore Shipping Corporation is a global enterprise dedicated to the maritime carriage of refined oil derivatives and various chemical substances. By February 15, 2022, the firm maintained an active fleet of 25 modern, twin-hulled vessels specifically designed for the transport of these product types. It caters to a diverse range of clientele, including prominent oil industry giants, independent petroleum companies, traders specializing in oil and chemical commodities, chemical manufacturing businesses, and organizations providing shipping pool services. Established in 2010, Ardmore Shipping's corporate headquarters are located in Pembroke, Bermuda.
ASC (Ardmore Shipping Corporation) trades in the Industrials sector, specifically Marine Shipping, with a market capitalization of approximately $680.2M, a trailing P/E of 6.23, a beta of 0.02 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 10.31-20.03, average daily share volume of 643K, a public-listing history dating back to 2013, approximately 56 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how ASC stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.02 indicates ASC 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 6.23 is on the value side, where IV often compresses outside event windows because forward growth expectations are already discounted into the share price. ASC pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a straddle on ASC?
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.
ASC snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $17.62, ATM IV 51.10%, IV rank 6.92%, expected move 14.65%. The straddle on ASC 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 straddle structure on ASC specifically: ASC IV at 51.10% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a ASC straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 14.65% (roughly $2.58 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 ASC expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on ASC should anchor to the underlying notional of $17.62 per share and to the trader's directional view on ASC stock.
ASC straddle setup
The ASC 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 ASC at $17.62 on that close, the first option leg uses a $17.62 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed ASC 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 ASC shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $17.62 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Put | $17.62 | N/A |
ASC 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.
ASC straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on ASC. 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 ASC
Straddles on ASC are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy ASC straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
ASC thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ASC extends from approximately $15.04 on the downside to $20.20 on the upside. A ASC 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 ASC IV rank near 6.92% 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 ASC at 51.10%. As a Industrials name, ASC options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to ASC-specific events.
ASC 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. ASC positions also carry Industrials sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move ASC alongside the broader basket even when ASC-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current ASC chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on ASC?
- A straddle on ASC is the straddle strategy applied to ASC (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 ASC stock at $17.62 on the most recent close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed ASC chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are ASC 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 ASC straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 51.10%), 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 ASC straddle?
- The breakeven for the ASC straddle 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 ASC market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 14.65%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on ASC?
- Straddles on ASC are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy ASC 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 ASC implied volatility affect this straddle?
- ASC ATM IV is at 51.10% with IV rank near 6.92%, 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.