CAPL Butterfly Strategy
CAPL (CrossAmerica Partners LP), in the Energy sector, (Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing industry), listed on NYSE.
CrossAmerica Partners LP engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels, operation of convenience stores, and ownership and leasing of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. The Wholesale segment engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels to lessee dealers, independent dealers, commission agents, and company operated retail sites. The Retail segment is involved in the sale of convenience merchandise items; and retail sale of motor fuels at company operated retail sites and retail sites operated by commission agents. As of December 31, 2021, the company distributed motor fuel on a wholesale basis to approximately 1,750 sites located in 34 states; and owned or leased approximately 1,150 sites. CrossAmerica GP LLC operates as the general partner of the company.
CAPL (CrossAmerica Partners LP) trades in the Energy sector, specifically Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing, with a market capitalization of approximately $865.0M, a trailing P/E of 15.20, a beta of 0.27 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 19.61-23.62, average daily share volume of 57K, a public-listing history dating back to 2012, approximately 179 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CAPL stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.27 indicates CAPL has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure. CAPL pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on CAPL?
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 CAPL snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $23.01, ATM IV 47.10%, IV rank 12.69%, expected move 13.50%. The butterfly on CAPL 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 CAPL specifically: CAPL IV at 47.10% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a CAPL butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 13.50% (roughly $3.11 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 CAPL expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CAPL should anchor to the underlying notional of $23.01 per share and to the trader's directional view on CAPL stock.
CAPL butterfly setup
The CAPL 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 CAPL near $23.01, the first option leg uses a $21.86 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CAPL 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 CAPL shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $21.86 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $23.01 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $24.16 | N/A |
CAPL 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.
CAPL butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on CAPL. 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 CAPL
Butterflies on CAPL are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect CAPL 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.
CAPL thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CAPL extends from approximately $19.90 on the downside to $26.12 on the upside. A CAPL long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if CAPL settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current CAPL IV rank near 12.69% 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 CAPL at 47.10%. As a Energy name, CAPL options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CAPL-specific events.
CAPL 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. CAPL positions also carry Energy sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CAPL alongside the broader basket even when CAPL-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current CAPL chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on CAPL?
- A butterfly on CAPL is the butterfly strategy applied to CAPL (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 CAPL stock trading near $23.01, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CAPL chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CAPL 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 CAPL butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 47.10%), 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 CAPL butterfly?
- The breakeven for the CAPL 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 CAPL market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 13.50%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on CAPL?
- Butterflies on CAPL are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect CAPL 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 CAPL implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- CAPL ATM IV is at 47.10% with IV rank near 12.69%, 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.