ATYR Butterfly Strategy
ATYR (aTyr Pharma, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
aTyr Pharma, Inc., a biotherapeutics company, engages in the discovery and development of medicines based on novel immunological pathways in the United States. Its lead therapeutic candidate is efzofitimod, a selective modulator of NRP2 that is in Phase III clinical trial for pulmonary sarcoidosis; and in Phase 1b/2a clinical trial for treatment of other interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), such as chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis and connective tissue disease related ILD. The company is developing ATYR0101, a fusion protein derived from a domain of aspartyl-tRNA synthetase that is in preclinical development for the treatment of fibrosis; and ATYR0750, a domain of alanyl-tRNA synthetase for the treatment of liver disorders. It has collaboration and license agreement with Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for the development and commercialization of efzofitimod for ILDs in Japan. aTyr Pharma, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
ATYR (aTyr Pharma, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $38.8M, a beta of 0.66 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 0.395-7.29, average daily share volume of 1.4M, a public-listing history dating back to 2015, approximately 56 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how ATYR stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.66 indicates ATYR has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure.
What is a butterfly on ATYR?
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 ATYR snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $0.49, ATM IV 22.70%, IV rank 0.34%, expected move 6.51%. The butterfly on ATYR 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 ATYR specifically: ATYR IV at 22.70% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a ATYR butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 6.51% (roughly $0.03 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 ATYR expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on ATYR should anchor to the underlying notional of $0.49 per share and to the trader's directional view on ATYR stock.
ATYR butterfly setup
The ATYR 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 ATYR near $0.49, the first option leg uses a $0.47 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed ATYR 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 ATYR shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $0.47 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $0.49 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $0.51 | N/A |
ATYR 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.
ATYR butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on ATYR. 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 ATYR
Butterflies on ATYR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect ATYR 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.
ATYR thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ATYR extends from approximately $0.46 on the downside to $0.52 on the upside. A ATYR long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if ATYR settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current ATYR IV rank near 0.34% 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 ATYR at 22.70%. As a Healthcare name, ATYR options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to ATYR-specific events.
ATYR 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. ATYR positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move ATYR alongside the broader basket even when ATYR-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current ATYR chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on ATYR?
- A butterfly on ATYR is the butterfly strategy applied to ATYR (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 ATYR stock trading near $0.49, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed ATYR chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are ATYR 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 ATYR butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 22.70%), 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 ATYR butterfly?
- The breakeven for the ATYR 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 ATYR market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 6.51%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on ATYR?
- Butterflies on ATYR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect ATYR 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 ATYR implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- ATYR ATM IV is at 22.70% with IV rank near 0.34%, 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.