CDNA Collar Strategy
CDNA (CareDx, Inc), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Diagnostics & Research industry), listed on NASDAQ.
CareDx, Inc. is a global innovator specializing in the discovery, development, and commercialization of diagnostic and management tools designed for transplant recipients and their healthcare providers. The company's extensive portfolio features a range of specialized diagnostic solutions for organ monitoring, including: AlloSure Kidney, AlloSure Heart, and AlloSure Lung: Advanced tests employing donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) technology to assess the health of kidney, heart, and lung transplants, respectively. AlloMap Heart: A gene expression-based solution specifically for heart transplant patients. AlloSeq cfDNA: A broader surveillance tool to measure dd-cfDNA levels in the blood. CareDx also provides cutting-edge human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing technologies, such as TruSight HLA, an NGS-based high-resolution typing solution; Olerup SSP, which uses sequence-specific primer technology for HLA allele typing; QTYPE for precise HLA typing; and AlloSeq Tx, another high-resolution HLA typing offering. For stem cell transplant recipients, the company offers AlloSeq HCT for chimerism testing.
CDNA (CareDx, Inc) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Diagnostics & Research, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.45B, a trailing P/E of 21.93, a beta of 2.42 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 11.272-49.76, average daily share volume of 936K, a public-listing history dating back to 2014, approximately 763 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CDNA stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 2.42 indicates CDNA has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position.
What is a collar on CDNA?
A collar pairs long stock with a protective out-of-the-money put financed by a short out-of-the-money call, capping both tails of the position around the current spot.
CDNA snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $45.42, ATM IV 50.90%, IV rank 12.12%, expected move 14.59%. The collar on CDNA 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 collar structure on CDNA specifically: IV regime affects collar pricing on both sides; compressed CDNA IV at 50.90% typically pushes the short call premium to roughly offset the long put cost, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 14.59% (roughly $6.63 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 CDNA expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CDNA should anchor to the underlying notional of $45.42 per share and to the trader's directional view on CDNA stock.
CDNA collar setup
The CDNA collar below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With CDNA at $45.42 on that close, the first option leg uses a $47.69 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CDNA 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 CDNA shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $45.42 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $47.69 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Put | $43.15 | N/A |
CDNA collar 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 roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium.
CDNA collar payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the collar on CDNA. 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 collar on CDNA
Collars on CDNA hedge an existing long CDNA stock position; the long put sets a floor while the short call finances it, often run as a near-zero-cost hedge during expected volatility windows.
CDNA thesis for this collar
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CDNA extends from approximately $38.79 on the downside to $52.05 on the upside. A CDNA collar hedges an existing long CDNA position with a protective put while financing the put cost via a short call; when the premiums roughly offset, the collar acts as a near-zero-cost insurance band around the current spot. Current CDNA IV rank near 12.12% 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 CDNA at 50.90%. As a Healthcare name, CDNA options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CDNA-specific events.
CDNA collar positions are structurally neutral (protective); 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. CDNA positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CDNA alongside the broader basket even when CDNA-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current CDNA chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a collar on CDNA?
- A collar on CDNA is the collar strategy applied to CDNA (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral (protective): A collar pairs long stock with a protective out-of-the-money put financed by a short out-of-the-money call, capping both tails of the position around the current spot. With CDNA stock at $45.42 on the most recent close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CDNA chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CDNA collar max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium. For the CDNA collar priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 50.90%), 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 CDNA collar?
- The breakeven for the CDNA collar 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 CDNA market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 14.59%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a collar on CDNA?
- Collars on CDNA hedge an existing long CDNA stock position; the long put sets a floor while the short call finances it, often run as a near-zero-cost hedge during expected volatility windows.
- How does current CDNA implied volatility affect this collar?
- CDNA ATM IV is at 50.90% with IV rank near 12.12%, 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.