CLB Straddle Strategy
CLB (Core Laboratories N.V.), in the Energy sector, (Oil & Gas Equipment & Services industry), listed on NYSE.
Core Laboratories N.V. provides reservoir description and production enhancement services and products to the oil and gas industry in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Reservoir Description and Production Enhancement segments. The Reservoir Description segment includes the characterization of petroleum reservoir rock, reservoir fluid, and gas samples to enhance production and improve recovery of oil and gas from its clients' reservoirs. It offers laboratory-based analytical and field services to characterize properties of crude oil and oil delivered products; and proprietary and joint industry studies. The Production Enhancement segment provides services and products relating to reservoir well completions, perforations, stimulations, and production. It offers integrated diagnostic services to evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of well completions and to develop solutions to improve the effectiveness of enhanced oil recovery projects.
CLB (Core Laboratories N.V.) trades in the Energy sector, specifically Oil & Gas Equipment & Services, with a market capitalization of approximately $605.2M, a trailing P/E of 20.84, a beta of 1.00 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 9.72-20.36, average daily share volume of 428K, a public-listing history dating back to 1995, approximately 3K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CLB stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.00 places CLB roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. CLB pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a straddle on CLB?
A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration.
Current CLB snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $13.13, ATM IV 304.50%, IV rank 66.76%, expected move 87.30%. The straddle on CLB 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 straddle structure on CLB specifically: CLB IV at 304.50% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so strategy selection should anchor more to the directional thesis than to the IV regime, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 87.30% (roughly $11.46 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 CLB expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CLB should anchor to the underlying notional of $13.13 per share and to the trader's directional view on CLB stock.
CLB straddle setup
The CLB straddle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With CLB near $13.13, the first option leg uses a $13.13 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CLB 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 CLB shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $13.13 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Put | $13.13 | N/A |
CLB straddle 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 strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit.
CLB straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on CLB. 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 straddle on CLB
Straddles on CLB are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy CLB straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
CLB thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CLB extends from approximately $1.67 on the downside to $24.59 on the upside. A CLB long straddle is a pure-volatility play: it profits when the underlying moves far enough from the strike in either direction to overcome the combined call plus put debit, regardless of direction. Current CLB IV rank near 66.76% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the straddle thesis on CLB should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Energy name, CLB options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CLB-specific events.
CLB straddle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium); 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. CLB positions also carry Energy sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CLB alongside the broader basket even when CLB-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current CLB chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on CLB?
- A straddle on CLB is the straddle strategy applied to CLB (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium): A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration. With CLB stock trading near $13.13, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CLB chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CLB straddle max profit and max loss calculated?
- Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit. For the CLB straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 304.50%), 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 CLB straddle?
- The breakeven for the CLB straddle 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 CLB market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 87.30%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on CLB?
- Straddles on CLB are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy CLB straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
- How does current CLB implied volatility affect this straddle?
- CLB ATM IV is at 304.50% with IV rank near 66.76%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.