CDNS Iron Condor Strategy
CDNS (Cadence Design Systems, Inc.), in the Technology sector, (Software - Application industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. operates globally, delivering a comprehensive suite of solutions that includes software, specialized hardware, professional services, and pre-designed integrated circuit (IC) building blocks. The company's robust functional verification offerings feature dedicated emulation and prototyping hardware. This portfolio encompasses JasperGold for formal verification, Xcelium for parallel logic simulation, Palladium as an enterprise-grade emulation platform, and Protium, a prototyping platform designed for thorough chip verification. Cadence additionally provides extensive products for digital IC design and final sign-off. These include the Genus logic synthesis solution, Joules for RTL power analysis, and the Modus software solution, which streamlines design-for-test (DFT) processes for systems-on-chip. Their tools further extend to physical implementation, covering place and route, optimization, and multiple patterning preparation, alongside essential sign-off products for validating designs prior to silicon manufacturing.
CDNS (Cadence Design Systems, Inc.) trades in the Technology sector, specifically Software - Application, with a market capitalization of approximately $88.99B, a trailing P/E of 64.02, a beta of 1.15 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 262.75-416.69, average daily share volume of 2.4M, a public-listing history dating back to 1987, approximately 14K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CDNS stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.15 places CDNS roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. The trailing P/E of 64.02 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 iron condor on CDNS?
An iron condor sells a call spread and a put spread at strikes outside spot, collecting net premium that is kept if the underlying stays inside the inner short strikes.
CDNS snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $325.63, ATM IV 34.24%, IV rank 21.38%, expected move 9.82%. The iron condor on CDNS below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 28-day expiry.
Why this iron condor structure on CDNS specifically: CDNS IV at 34.24% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling CDNS iron condor collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 9.82% (roughly $31.96 on the underlying). The 28-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated CDNS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CDNS should anchor to the underlying notional of $325.63 per share and to the trader's directional view on CDNS stock.
CDNS iron condor setup
The CDNS iron condor below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With CDNS at $325.63 on that close, the first option leg uses a $340.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CDNS chain at a 28-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 CDNS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Call | $340.00 | $6.70 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $360.00 | $2.65 |
| Sell 1 | Put | $310.00 | $5.45 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $295.00 | $2.25 |
CDNS iron condor risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$725.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $725.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$1,275.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $302.75, $347.25
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.569
Max profit equals the net credit times 100 inside the inner strikes; max loss equals wing width minus credit times 100. Two breakevens at inner strikes plus and minus the credit.
CDNS iron condor payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the iron condor on CDNS. 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% | -$775.00 |
| $72.01 | -77.9% | -$775.00 |
| $144.00 | -55.8% | -$775.00 |
| $216.00 | -33.7% | -$775.00 |
| $288.00 | -11.6% | -$775.00 |
| $360.00 | +10.6% | -$1,274.74 |
| $431.99 | +32.7% | -$1,275.00 |
| $503.99 | +54.8% | -$1,275.00 |
| $575.99 | +76.9% | -$1,275.00 |
| $647.99 | +99.0% | -$1,275.00 |
When traders use iron condor on CDNS
Iron condors on CDNS are a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that profits if CDNS stock stays inside the inner short strikes; short strikes typically sit near 1 standard deviation from spot.
CDNS thesis for this iron condor
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CDNS extends from approximately $293.67 on the downside to $357.59 on the upside. A CDNS iron condor is a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that pays off when CDNS stays inside the inner short strikes through expiration; the wing width should reflect the trader's tolerance for the maximum loss scenario where the underlying breaches an outer strike. Current CDNS IV rank near 21.38% 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 CDNS at 34.24%. As a Technology name, CDNS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CDNS-specific events.
CDNS iron condor positions are structurally neutral / range-bound; 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. CDNS positions also carry Technology sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CDNS alongside the broader basket even when CDNS-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a iron condor on CDNS carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical CDNS earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current CDNS chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a iron condor on CDNS?
- A iron condor on CDNS is the iron condor strategy applied to CDNS (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / range-bound: An iron condor sells a call spread and a put spread at strikes outside spot, collecting net premium that is kept if the underlying stays inside the inner short strikes. With CDNS stock at $325.63 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CDNS chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CDNS iron condor max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the net credit times 100 inside the inner strikes; max loss equals wing width minus credit times 100. Two breakevens at inner strikes plus and minus the credit. For the CDNS iron condor priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 34.24%), the computed maximum profit is $725.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$1,275.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a CDNS iron condor?
- The breakeven for the CDNS iron condor priced on this page is roughly $302.75 and $347.25 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 2026 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 CDNS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 9.82%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a iron condor on CDNS?
- Iron condors on CDNS are a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that profits if CDNS stock stays inside the inner short strikes; short strikes typically sit near 1 standard deviation from spot.
- How does current CDNS implied volatility affect this iron condor?
- CDNS ATM IV is at 34.24% with IV rank near 21.38%, 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.