CTMX Butterfly Strategy
CTMX (CytomX Therapeutics, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. is a United States-based biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on creating treatments for cancer. The company utilizes its proprietary Probody technology platform to engineer targeted antibody therapeutics for oncological applications. Its robust clinical pipeline includes several notable drug candidates. CX-2009, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) designed to target CD166, is currently in Phase II clinical trials for treating breast cancer. Another investigational therapy, CX-2029, has also reached Phase II trials, where it is being evaluated for various cancers such as squamous non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, esophageal and gastro-esophageal junction cancers, and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Additionally, CytomX is progressing two CTLA-4 Probody therapeutics: BMS-986249, which is undergoing Phase I/II clinical trials for metastatic melanoma, and BMS-986288, in Phase I trials for solid tumors.
CTMX (CytomX Therapeutics, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $546.8M, a beta of 2.09 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 1.72-8.21, average daily share volume of 4.4M, a public-listing history dating back to 2015, approximately 119 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CTMX stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 2.09 indicates CTMX 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 butterfly on CTMX?
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.
Current CTMX snapshot
As of June 30, 2026, spot at $3.74, ATM IV 71.90%, IV rank 14.39%, expected move 20.61%. The butterfly on CTMX 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 17-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on CTMX specifically: CTMX IV at 71.90% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a CTMX butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 20.61% (roughly $0.77 on the underlying). The 17-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated CTMX expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CTMX should anchor to the underlying notional of $3.74 per share and to the trader's directional view on CTMX stock.
CTMX butterfly setup
The CTMX butterfly below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With CTMX near $3.74, the first option leg uses a $3.55 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CTMX chain at a 17-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 CTMX shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $3.55 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $3.74 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $3.93 | N/A |
CTMX butterfly 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
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.
CTMX butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on CTMX. 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 butterfly on CTMX
Butterflies on CTMX are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect CTMX 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.
CTMX thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CTMX extends from approximately $2.97 on the downside to $4.51 on the upside. A CTMX long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if CTMX settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current CTMX IV rank near 14.39% 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 CTMX at 71.90%. As a Healthcare name, CTMX options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CTMX-specific events.
CTMX 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. CTMX positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CTMX alongside the broader basket even when CTMX-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current CTMX chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on CTMX?
- A butterfly on CTMX is the butterfly strategy applied to CTMX (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 CTMX stock trading near $3.74, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CTMX chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CTMX 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 CTMX butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 71.90%), 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 CTMX butterfly?
- The breakeven for the CTMX butterfly 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 CTMX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 20.61%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on CTMX?
- Butterflies on CTMX are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect CTMX 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 CTMX implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- CTMX ATM IV is at 71.90% with IV rank near 14.39%, 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.