CDLX Butterfly Strategy
CDLX (Cardlytics, Inc.), in the Communication Services sector, (Advertising Agencies industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Cardlytics, Inc. provides an advertising platform, operating in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Among its key offerings is the Cardlytics platform, a proprietary advertising channel integrated directly into banks' digital environments. This system allows marketers to engage customers through the vast networks of their financial institution partners, leveraging digital avenues such as online portals, mobile applications, email, and various real-time alerts. Furthermore, the company offers the Bridg platform, a comprehensive customer data solution that processes point-of-sale information. This enables marketers to conduct advanced analytics, implement highly targeted loyalty initiatives, and precisely evaluate the performance of their marketing efforts. Cardlytics, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
CDLX (Cardlytics, Inc.) trades in the Communication Services sector, specifically Advertising Agencies, with a market capitalization of approximately $24.4M, a beta of 0.62 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 3.49-32.8, average daily share volume of 80K, a public-listing history dating back to 2018, approximately 275 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CDLX stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.62 indicates CDLX 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 CDLX?
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.
CDLX snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $4.44, ATM IV 317.00%, IV rank 85.04%, expected move 90.88%. The butterfly on CDLX 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 63-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on CDLX specifically: CDLX IV at 317.00% is rich versus its 1-year range, which makes a premium-buying CDLX butterfly relatively expensive in absolute-cost terms, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 90.88% (roughly $4.04 on the underlying). The 63-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated CDLX expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CDLX should anchor to the underlying notional of $4.44 per share and to the trader's directional view on CDLX stock.
CDLX butterfly setup
The CDLX 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 CDLX at $4.44 on that close, the first option leg uses a $4.22 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CDLX chain at a 63-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 CDLX shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $4.22 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $4.44 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $4.66 | N/A |
CDLX 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.
CDLX butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on CDLX. 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 CDLX
Butterflies on CDLX are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect CDLX 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.
CDLX thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CDLX extends from approximately $0.40 on the downside to $8.48 on the upside. A CDLX long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if CDLX settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current CDLX IV rank near 85.04% sits in the upper third of its 1-year distribution, which historically reverts; this raises the bar for premium-buying structures and lowers it for premium-selling structures on CDLX at 317.00%. As a Communication Services name, CDLX options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CDLX-specific events.
CDLX 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. CDLX positions also carry Communication Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CDLX alongside the broader basket even when CDLX-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current CDLX chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on CDLX?
- A butterfly on CDLX is the butterfly strategy applied to CDLX (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 CDLX stock at $4.44 on the most recent close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CDLX chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CDLX 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 CDLX butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 317.00%), 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 CDLX butterfly?
- The breakeven for the CDLX butterfly 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 CDLX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 90.88%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on CDLX?
- Butterflies on CDLX are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect CDLX 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 CDLX implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- CDLX ATM IV is at 317.00% with IV rank near 85.04%, which is elevated relative to its 1-year range. Premium-selling structures (covered call, cash-secured put, iron condor) generally look more attractive when IV rank is high; premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are more expensive in that regime.