CAI Long Put Strategy
CAI (Caris Life Sciences, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Caris Life Sciences, Inc. operates as a leading "TechBio" firm, harnessing artificial intelligence to deliver comprehensive molecular profiling services to clients both in the United States and internationally. The company is dedicated to transforming medical care by innovating and bringing to market advanced solutions that leverage molecular data and sophisticated machine learning algorithms. Its extensive suite of molecular diagnostic offerings includes MI Profile, a specialized solution analyzing tissue samples, and Caris Assure, a blood-based test designed for cancer treatment applications. Furthermore, Caris provides research and development support to biopharmaceutical customers, encompassing laboratory delivery, strategic data insights, and dedicated research initiatives. Established in 2008, the company maintains its corporate headquarters in Irving, Texas.
CAI (Caris Life Sciences, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $6.16B, a trailing P/E of 58.66, a beta of 0.68 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 14.19-42.5, average daily share volume of 3.3M, a public-listing history dating back to 2025, approximately 2K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CAI stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.68 indicates CAI 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 58.66 is on the rich side, which tends to correlate with higher earnings-window IV expansion as the market debates whether forward growth supports the multiple.
What is a long put on CAI?
A long put buys downside exposure with a fixed maximum loss equal to the premium paid; profit accrues if the underlying closes below the strike minus premium at expiration.
CAI snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $21.73, ATM IV 63.40%, IV rank 6.15%, expected move 18.18%. The long put on CAI 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 long put structure on CAI specifically: CAI IV at 63.40% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a CAI long put, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 18.18% (roughly $3.95 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 CAI expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CAI should anchor to the underlying notional of $21.73 per share and to the trader's directional view on CAI stock.
CAI long put setup
The CAI long 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 CAI at $21.73 on that close, the first option leg uses a $21.73 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CAI 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 CAI shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Put | $21.73 | N/A |
CAI long 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 the strike minus premium times 100 (reached at zero); max loss equals the premium times 100. Breakeven is strike minus premium.
CAI long put payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the long put on CAI. 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 long put on CAI
Long puts on CAI hedge an existing long CAI stock position or express a bearish view with defined risk; position sizing typically scales the put notional to the underlying CAI exposure being hedged.
CAI thesis for this long put
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CAI extends from approximately $17.78 on the downside to $25.68 on the upside. A CAI long put expresses a directional view that the underlying closes below the strike minus premium at expiration, frequently sized to hedge an existing long CAI position with one put per 100 shares held. Current CAI IV rank near 6.15% 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 CAI at 63.40%. As a Healthcare name, CAI options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CAI-specific events.
CAI long put positions are structurally bearish; 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. CAI positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CAI alongside the broader basket even when CAI-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Long-premium structures like a long put on CAI are particularly exposed to IV-crush risk through scheduled events (earnings, FDA decisions, central-bank meetings) where IV typically contracts post-event regardless of the directional outcome. Always rebuild the position from current CAI chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a long put on CAI?
- A long put on CAI is the long put strategy applied to CAI (stock). The strategy is structurally bearish: A long put buys downside exposure with a fixed maximum loss equal to the premium paid; profit accrues if the underlying closes below the strike minus premium at expiration. With CAI stock at $21.73 on the most recent close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CAI chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CAI long put max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the strike minus premium times 100 (reached at zero); max loss equals the premium times 100. Breakeven is strike minus premium. For the CAI long put priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 63.40%), 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 CAI long put?
- The breakeven for the CAI long 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 CAI market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 18.18%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a long put on CAI?
- Long puts on CAI hedge an existing long CAI stock position or express a bearish view with defined risk; position sizing typically scales the put notional to the underlying CAI exposure being hedged.
- How does current CAI implied volatility affect this long put?
- CAI ATM IV is at 63.40% with IV rank near 6.15%, 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.