CRNX Straddle Strategy
CRNX (Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for rare endocrine diseases and endocrine-related tumors. Its lead product candidate is Paltusotine, an oral selective nonpeptide somatostatin receptor type 2 agonist that has completed phase III clinical trial for the treatment of acromegaly, as well as completed phase II clinical trial to treat carcinoid syndrome and nonfunctional neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). The company is also developing CRN04777, an oral selective nonpeptide somatostatin type 5 receptor agonist, which is in phase I clinical trial for the treatment of congenital hyperinsulinism; and CRN04894, an oral adrenocorticotrophic hormone antagonist that is in phase I clinical trial for the treatment of Cushing's and congenital adrenal hyperplasia diseases. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
CRNX (Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.95B, a beta of 0.28 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 25.83-57.99, average daily share volume of 1.2M, a public-listing history dating back to 2018, approximately 437 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CRNX stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.28 indicates CRNX has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure.
What is a straddle on CRNX?
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 CRNX snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $36.58, ATM IV 48.70%, IV rank 23.30%, expected move 13.96%. The straddle on CRNX 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 CRNX specifically: CRNX IV at 48.70% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a CRNX straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 13.96% (roughly $5.11 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 CRNX expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CRNX should anchor to the underlying notional of $36.58 per share and to the trader's directional view on CRNX stock.
CRNX straddle setup
The CRNX 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 CRNX near $36.58, the first option leg uses a $37.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CRNX 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 CRNX shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $37.00 | $2.48 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $37.00 | $2.45 |
CRNX straddle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$492.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$478.86
- Breakeven(s)
- $32.08, $41.93
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- Unbounded
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.
CRNX straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on CRNX. 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% | +$3,206.50 |
| $8.10 | -77.9% | +$2,397.81 |
| $16.18 | -55.8% | +$1,589.11 |
| $24.27 | -33.7% | +$780.42 |
| $32.36 | -11.5% | -$28.27 |
| $40.44 | +10.6% | -$148.03 |
| $48.53 | +32.7% | +$660.66 |
| $56.62 | +54.8% | +$1,469.35 |
| $64.71 | +76.9% | +$2,278.05 |
| $72.79 | +99.0% | +$3,086.74 |
When traders use straddle on CRNX
Straddles on CRNX are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy CRNX straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
CRNX thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CRNX extends from approximately $31.47 on the downside to $41.69 on the upside. A CRNX 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 CRNX IV rank near 23.30% 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 CRNX at 48.70%. As a Healthcare name, CRNX options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CRNX-specific events.
CRNX 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. CRNX positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CRNX alongside the broader basket even when CRNX-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current CRNX chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on CRNX?
- A straddle on CRNX is the straddle strategy applied to CRNX (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 CRNX stock trading near $36.58, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CRNX chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CRNX 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 CRNX straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 48.70%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$478.86 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a CRNX straddle?
- The breakeven for the CRNX straddle priced on this page is roughly $32.08 and $41.93 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 CRNX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 13.96%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on CRNX?
- Straddles on CRNX are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy CRNX 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 CRNX implied volatility affect this straddle?
- CRNX ATM IV is at 48.70% with IV rank near 23.30%, 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.