CRS Butterfly Strategy
CRS (Carpenter Technology Corporation), in the Basic Materials sector, (Steel industry), listed on NYSE.
Carpenter Technology Corporation is a global leader in the production and supply of high-performance metallic materials, serving markets across the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, Mexico, and Canada. The company's operations are structured into two primary divisions: Specialty Alloys Operations and Performance Engineered Products. Its diverse product portfolio encompasses advanced alloys like titanium, stainless, alloy, and tool steels, alongside various powder metals, additives, and custom-fabricated metal components. These specialized materials are critical to numerous industries, including aerospace, defense, medical devices, transportation, energy generation, general manufacturing, and consumer goods. Established in 1889, Carpenter Technology maintains its corporate headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
CRS (Carpenter Technology Corporation) trades in the Basic Materials sector, specifically Steel, with a market capitalization of approximately $14.44B, a trailing P/E of 25.48, a beta of 1.41 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 270.49-625.99, average daily share volume of 866K, a public-listing history dating back to 1987, approximately 5K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CRS stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.41 indicates CRS has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. CRS pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on CRS?
A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration.
CRS snapshot
As of November 13, 2026, spot at $288.95, ATM IV 52.60%, IV rank 50.46%, expected move 15.08%. The butterfly on CRS below is built from the November 13, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 35-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on CRS specifically: CRS IV at 52.60% 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 15.08% (roughly $43.57 on the underlying). The 35-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated CRS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CRS should anchor to the underlying notional of $288.95 per share and to the trader's directional view on CRS stock.
CRS butterfly setup
The CRS butterfly below is built from the November 13, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With CRS at $288.95 on that close, the first option leg uses a $270.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CRS chain at a 35-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 CRS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $270.00 | $30.75 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $290.00 | $19.20 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $300.00 | $14.40 |
CRS butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$675.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $1,284.30
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$675.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $276.75
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.903
Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit.
CRS butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on CRS. 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% | -$675.00 |
| $63.90 | -77.9% | -$675.00 |
| $127.78 | -55.8% | -$675.00 |
| $191.67 | -33.7% | -$675.00 |
| $255.56 | -11.6% | -$675.00 |
| $319.45 | +10.6% | +$325.00 |
| $383.33 | +32.7% | +$325.00 |
| $447.22 | +54.8% | +$325.00 |
| $511.11 | +76.9% | +$325.00 |
| $575.00 | +99.0% | +$325.00 |
When traders use butterfly on CRS
Butterflies on CRS are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect CRS to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
CRS thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CRS extends from approximately $245.38 on the downside to $332.52 on the upside. A CRS long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if CRS settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current CRS IV rank near 50.46% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on CRS should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Basic Materials name, CRS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CRS-specific events.
CRS butterfly positions are structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward); 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. CRS positions also carry Basic Materials sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CRS alongside the broader basket even when CRS-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current CRS chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on CRS?
- A butterfly on CRS is the butterfly strategy applied to CRS (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward): A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration. With CRS stock at $288.95 on the November 13, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CRS chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CRS butterfly max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit. For the CRS butterfly priced from the November 13, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 52.60%), the computed maximum profit is $1,284.30 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$675.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a CRS butterfly?
- The breakeven for the CRS butterfly priced on this page is roughly $276.75 at expiration, derived from the November 13, 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 CRS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 15.08%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on CRS?
- Butterflies on CRS are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect CRS to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
- How does current CRS implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- CRS ATM IV is at 52.60% with IV rank near 50.46%, 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.