CTSH Iron Condor Strategy
CTSH (Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation), in the Technology sector, (Information Technology Services industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation functions as a global professional services firm, delivering a comprehensive suite of consulting, technology, and outsourcing solutions across North America, Europe, and other international markets. Its operations are structured into four primary divisions: Financial Services, Healthcare, Products and Resources, and Communications, Media and Technology. Within the Financial Services sector, Cognizant provides advanced services such as enhancing customer experiences, implementing robotic process automation (RPA), and leveraging analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to address needs in areas like digital lending, fraud prevention, and modern payment systems. For its Healthcare clients, the company focuses on navigating industry shifts toward consumer-centric models, outcome-based agreements, and digital health initiatives, striving to deliver an integrated, seamless, and patient-focused omnichannel experience. Furthermore, Cognizant assists in optimizing operations across various functions, including clinical development, pharmacovigilance, manufacturing, claims management, enrollment procedures, membership administration, and billing processes. Its clientele in this domain spans healthcare providers, payers, and life sciences organizations, encompassing pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device firms.
CTSH (Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation) trades in the Technology sector, specifically Information Technology Services, with a market capitalization of approximately $18.97B, a trailing P/E of 8.57, a beta of 0.81 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 38.97-87.03, average daily share volume of 9.3M, a public-listing history dating back to 1998, approximately 336K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CTSH stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.81 places CTSH roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. The trailing P/E of 8.57 is on the value side, where IV often compresses outside event windows because forward growth expectations are already discounted into the share price. CTSH pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a iron condor on CTSH?
An iron condor sells a call spread and a put spread at strikes outside spot, collecting net premium that is kept if the underlying stays inside the inner short strikes.
Current CTSH snapshot
As of June 30, 2026, spot at $38.84, ATM IV 48.40%, IV rank 84.86%, expected move 13.88%. The iron condor on CTSH 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 iron condor structure on CTSH specifically: CTSH IV at 48.40% is rich versus its 1-year range, which favors premium-selling structures like a CTSH iron condor, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 13.88% (roughly $5.39 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 CTSH expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CTSH should anchor to the underlying notional of $38.84 per share and to the trader's directional view on CTSH stock.
CTSH iron condor setup
The CTSH iron condor below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With CTSH near $38.84, the first option leg uses a $40.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CTSH 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 CTSH shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Call | $40.00 | $1.18 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $42.50 | $0.50 |
| Sell 1 | Put | $37.50 | $1.00 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $35.00 | $0.38 |
CTSH iron condor risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$130.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $130.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$120.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $36.20, $41.30
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.083
Max profit equals the net credit times 100 inside the inner strikes; max loss equals wing width minus credit times 100. Two breakevens at inner strikes plus and minus the credit.
CTSH iron condor payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the iron condor on CTSH. 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% | -$120.00 |
| $8.60 | -77.9% | -$120.00 |
| $17.18 | -55.8% | -$120.00 |
| $25.77 | -33.7% | -$120.00 |
| $34.36 | -11.5% | -$120.00 |
| $42.94 | +10.6% | -$120.00 |
| $51.53 | +32.7% | -$120.00 |
| $60.12 | +54.8% | -$120.00 |
| $68.70 | +76.9% | -$120.00 |
| $77.29 | +99.0% | -$120.00 |
When traders use iron condor on CTSH
Iron condors on CTSH are a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that profits if CTSH stock stays inside the inner short strikes; short strikes typically sit near 1 standard deviation from spot.
CTSH thesis for this iron condor
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CTSH extends from approximately $33.45 on the downside to $44.23 on the upside. A CTSH iron condor is a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that pays off when CTSH stays inside the inner short strikes through expiration; the wing width should reflect the trader's tolerance for the maximum loss scenario where the underlying breaches an outer strike. Current CTSH IV rank near 84.86% sits in the upper third of its 1-year distribution, which historically reverts; this raises the bar for premium-buying structures and lowers it for premium-selling structures on CTSH at 48.40%. As a Technology name, CTSH options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CTSH-specific events.
CTSH iron condor positions are structurally neutral / range-bound; 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. CTSH positions also carry Technology sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CTSH alongside the broader basket even when CTSH-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a iron condor on CTSH carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical CTSH earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current CTSH chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a iron condor on CTSH?
- A iron condor on CTSH is the iron condor strategy applied to CTSH (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / range-bound: An iron condor sells a call spread and a put spread at strikes outside spot, collecting net premium that is kept if the underlying stays inside the inner short strikes. With CTSH stock trading near $38.84, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CTSH chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CTSH iron condor max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the net credit times 100 inside the inner strikes; max loss equals wing width minus credit times 100. Two breakevens at inner strikes plus and minus the credit. For the CTSH iron condor priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 48.40%), the computed maximum profit is $130.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$120.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a CTSH iron condor?
- The breakeven for the CTSH iron condor priced on this page is roughly $36.20 and $41.30 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 CTSH market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 13.88%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a iron condor on CTSH?
- Iron condors on CTSH are a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that profits if CTSH stock stays inside the inner short strikes; short strikes typically sit near 1 standard deviation from spot.
- How does current CTSH implied volatility affect this iron condor?
- CTSH ATM IV is at 48.40% with IV rank near 84.86%, which is elevated relative to its 1-year range. Premium-selling structures (covered call, cash-secured put, iron condor) generally look more attractive when IV rank is high; premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are more expensive in that regime.