AXSM Strangle Strategy
AXSM (Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Axsome Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of novel therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders in the United States. The company's product pipeline includes AXS-05, a therapeutic for the treatment of major depressive disorder and resistant depression disorders; and that is in the Phase III clinical trial to treat Alzheimer's disease agitation, as well as that has completed phase II clinical trial for the treatment of smoking cessation. It is also developing AXS-07, a novel, oral, rapidly absorbed, multi-mechanistic, and investigational medicine that has completed two Phase III trials for the acute treatment of migraine; AXS-12, a selective and potent norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, which is in Phase III trial to treat narcolepsy; and AXS-14, a novel, oral, and investigational medicine that is in Phase III trial for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. has a research collaboration agreement with Duke University for evaluating AXS-05 in smoking cessation. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is based in New York, New York.
AXSM (Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $12.11B, a beta of 0.59 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 96.09-235.915, average daily share volume of 709K, a public-listing history dating back to 2015, approximately 712 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how AXSM stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.59 indicates AXSM 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 strangle on AXSM?
A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money.
Current AXSM snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $228.54, ATM IV 37.90%, IV rank 13.22%, expected move 10.87%. The strangle on AXSM 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 strangle structure on AXSM specifically: AXSM IV at 37.90% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a AXSM strangle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 10.87% (roughly $24.83 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 AXSM expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on AXSM should anchor to the underlying notional of $228.54 per share and to the trader's directional view on AXSM stock.
AXSM strangle setup
The AXSM strangle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With AXSM near $228.54, the first option leg uses a $240.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed AXSM 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 AXSM shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $240.00 | $5.75 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $220.00 | $6.80 |
AXSM strangle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$1,255.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$1,255.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $207.45, $252.55
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- Unbounded
Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit.
AXSM strangle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the strangle on AXSM. 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% | +$20,744.00 |
| $50.54 | -77.9% | +$15,690.96 |
| $101.07 | -55.8% | +$10,637.93 |
| $151.60 | -33.7% | +$5,584.89 |
| $202.13 | -11.6% | +$531.86 |
| $252.66 | +10.6% | +$11.18 |
| $303.19 | +32.7% | +$5,064.21 |
| $353.72 | +54.8% | +$10,117.25 |
| $404.25 | +76.9% | +$15,170.28 |
| $454.78 | +99.0% | +$20,223.32 |
When traders use strangle on AXSM
Strangles on AXSM are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the AXSM chain.
AXSM thesis for this strangle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for AXSM extends from approximately $203.71 on the downside to $253.37 on the upside. A AXSM long strangle is the OTM cousin of the straddle: lower up-front cost but the underlying has to travel further past either OTM strike before the position turns profitable at expiration. Current AXSM IV rank near 13.22% 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 AXSM at 37.90%. As a Healthcare name, AXSM options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to AXSM-specific events.
AXSM strangle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium, OTM); 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. AXSM positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move AXSM alongside the broader basket even when AXSM-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current AXSM chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a strangle on AXSM?
- A strangle on AXSM is the strangle strategy applied to AXSM (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium, OTM): A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money. With AXSM stock trading near $228.54, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed AXSM chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are AXSM strangle max profit and max loss calculated?
- Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit. For the AXSM strangle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 37.90%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$1,255.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a AXSM strangle?
- The breakeven for the AXSM strangle priced on this page is roughly $207.45 and $252.55 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 AXSM market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.87%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a strangle on AXSM?
- Strangles on AXSM are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the AXSM chain.
- How does current AXSM implied volatility affect this strangle?
- AXSM ATM IV is at 37.90% with IV rank near 13.22%, 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.