CRL Cash-Secured Put Strategy
CRL (Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Diagnostics & Research industry), listed on NYSE.
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. operates as a contract research organization (CRO), providing essential preclinical services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Its core business revolves around assisting clients with drug discovery, non-clinical development, and thorough safety testing, with its services extending globally across the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Asia Pacific region. The company organizes its diverse offerings into three principal segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions. 1. Research Models and Services (RMS): This division is a key supplier of high-quality rodent research models, including specially bred strains of rats and mice for experimental purposes. It also offers a comprehensive array of support services to help clients effectively utilize these models in their research and for the screening of potential non-clinical drug candidates. These include providing genetically engineered models, insourcing solutions for facility management, and diagnostic services for research animals. 2.
CRL (Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Diagnostics & Research, with a market capitalization of approximately $10.39B, a beta of 1.45 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 144.26-228.88, average daily share volume of 870K, a public-listing history dating back to 2000, approximately 19K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CRL stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.45 indicates CRL 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 cash-secured put on CRL?
A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike.
Current CRL snapshot
As of June 29, 2026, spot at $224.24, ATM IV 48.80%, IV rank 32.75%, expected move 13.99%. The cash-secured put on CRL 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 18-day expiry.
Why this cash-secured put structure on CRL specifically: CRL IV at 48.80% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so the credit collected on a CRL cash-secured put sits in line with its long-run distribution, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 13.99% (roughly $31.37 on the underlying). The 18-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated CRL expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CRL should anchor to the underlying notional of $224.24 per share and to the trader's directional view on CRL stock.
CRL cash-secured put setup
The CRL cash-secured put below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With CRL near $224.24, the first option leg uses a $210.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CRL chain at a 18-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 CRL shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Put | $210.00 | $4.65 |
CRL cash-secured put risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$465.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $465.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$20,534.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $205.35
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.023
Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.
CRL cash-secured put payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put on CRL. 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% | -$20,534.00 |
| $49.59 | -77.9% | -$15,576.04 |
| $99.17 | -55.8% | -$10,618.08 |
| $148.75 | -33.7% | -$5,660.12 |
| $198.33 | -11.6% | -$702.16 |
| $247.91 | +10.6% | +$465.00 |
| $297.49 | +32.7% | +$465.00 |
| $347.07 | +54.8% | +$465.00 |
| $396.65 | +76.9% | +$465.00 |
| $446.23 | +99.0% | +$465.00 |
When traders use cash-secured put on CRL
Cash-secured puts on CRL earn premium while a trader waits to acquire CRL stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning CRL.
CRL thesis for this cash-secured put
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CRL extends from approximately $192.87 on the downside to $255.61 on the upside. A CRL cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire CRL at the strike price; the strategy is most attractive when the trader is comfortable holding the underlying at that level and IV is rich enough to compensate for the assignment risk. Current CRL IV rank near 32.75% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the cash-secured put thesis on CRL should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Healthcare name, CRL options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CRL-specific events.
CRL cash-secured put positions are structurally neutral to slightly bullish; 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. CRL positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CRL alongside the broader basket even when CRL-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on CRL carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical CRL earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current CRL chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a cash-secured put on CRL?
- A cash-secured put on CRL is the cash-secured put strategy applied to CRL (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral to slightly bullish: A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike. With CRL stock trading near $224.24, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CRL chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CRL cash-secured put max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium. For the CRL cash-secured put priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 48.80%), the computed maximum profit is $465.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$20,534.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a CRL cash-secured put?
- The breakeven for the CRL cash-secured put priced on this page is roughly $205.35 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 CRL market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 13.99%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a cash-secured put on CRL?
- Cash-secured puts on CRL earn premium while a trader waits to acquire CRL stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning CRL.
- How does current CRL implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
- CRL ATM IV is at 48.80% with IV rank near 32.75%, 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.