CIM Strangle Strategy
CIM (Chimera Investment Corporation), in the Real Estate sector, (REIT - Mortgage industry), listed on NYSE.
Chimera Investment Corporation operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. The company, through its subsidiaries, invests in a portfolio of mortgage assets, including residential mortgage loans, agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities, agency mortgage-backed securities secured by pools of residential, commercial mortgage loans, and other real estate related securities. It has elected to be taxed as a REIT. In addition, the company invests in investment, non-investment grade, and non-rated classes. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is based in New York, New York.
CIM (Chimera Investment Corporation) trades in the Real Estate sector, specifically REIT - Mortgage, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.11B, a trailing P/E of 57.76, a beta of 1.79 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 11.67-14.88, average daily share volume of 805K, a public-listing history dating back to 2007, approximately 77 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CIM stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.79 indicates CIM has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. The trailing P/E of 57.76 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. CIM pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a strangle on CIM?
A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money.
Current CIM snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $13.07, ATM IV 25.00%, IV rank 3.40%, expected move 7.17%. The strangle on CIM 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 strangle structure on CIM specifically: CIM IV at 25.00% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a CIM strangle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 7.17% (roughly $0.94 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 CIM expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CIM should anchor to the underlying notional of $13.07 per share and to the trader's directional view on CIM stock.
CIM strangle setup
The CIM strangle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With CIM near $13.07, the first option leg uses a $13.72 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CIM 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 CIM shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $13.72 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Put | $12.42 | N/A |
CIM strangle 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
Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit.
CIM strangle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the strangle on CIM. 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 strangle on CIM
Strangles on CIM are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the CIM chain.
CIM thesis for this strangle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CIM extends from approximately $12.13 on the downside to $14.01 on the upside. A CIM long strangle is the OTM cousin of the straddle: lower up-front cost but the underlying has to travel further past either OTM strike before the position turns profitable at expiration. Current CIM IV rank near 3.40% 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 CIM at 25.00%. As a Real Estate name, CIM options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CIM-specific events.
CIM strangle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium, OTM); 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. CIM positions also carry Real Estate sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CIM alongside the broader basket even when CIM-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current CIM chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a strangle on CIM?
- A strangle on CIM is the strangle strategy applied to CIM (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium, OTM): A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money. With CIM stock trading near $13.07, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CIM chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CIM strangle max profit and max loss calculated?
- Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit. For the CIM strangle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 25.00%), 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 CIM strangle?
- The breakeven for the CIM strangle 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 CIM market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 7.17%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a strangle on CIM?
- Strangles on CIM are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the CIM chain.
- How does current CIM implied volatility affect this strangle?
- CIM ATM IV is at 25.00% with IV rank near 3.40%, 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.