How are CWST 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 CWST straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 36.50%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$733.61 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a CWST straddle?

The breakeven for the CWST straddle priced on this page is roughly $77.60 and $92.40 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 CWST market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.46%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current CWST implied volatility affect this straddle?

CWST ATM IV is at 36.50% with IV rank near 5.97%, 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.

CWST Straddle Strategy

CWST (Casella Waste Systems, Inc.), in the Industrials sector, (Waste Management industry), listed on NASDAQ.

Casella Waste Systems, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a vertically integrated solid waste services company in the northeastern United States. It offers resource management services primarily in the areas of solid waste collection and disposal, transfer, recycling, and organics services to residential, commercial, municipal, institutional, and industrial customers. The company provides a range of non-hazardous solid waste services, including collections, transfer stations, and disposal facilities. It also markets recyclable metals, aluminum, plastics, and paper and corrugated cardboard that are processed at its facilities, as well as recyclables purchased from third parties. In addition, the company is involved in commodity brokerage operations. As of January 31, 2022, it owned and/or operated 50 solid waste collection operations, 65 transfer stations, 23 recycling facilities, 8 Subtitle D landfills, 3 landfill gas-to-energy facilities, and 1 landfill permitted to accept construction and demolition materials.

CWST (Casella Waste Systems, Inc.) trades in the Industrials sector, specifically Waste Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $5.28B, a trailing P/E of 750.13, a beta of 0.77 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 74.05-118.91, average daily share volume of 910K, a public-listing history dating back to 1997, approximately 5K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CWST stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.77 places CWST roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. The trailing P/E of 750.13 is on the rich side, which tends to correlate with higher earnings-window IV expansion as the market debates whether forward growth supports the multiple.

What is a straddle on CWST?

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 CWST snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $85.36, ATM IV 36.50%, IV rank 5.97%, expected move 10.46%. The straddle on CWST 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 CWST specifically: CWST IV at 36.50% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a CWST straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 10.46% (roughly $8.93 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 CWST expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CWST should anchor to the underlying notional of $85.36 per share and to the trader's directional view on CWST stock.

CWST straddle setup

The CWST 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 CWST near $85.36, the first option leg uses a $85.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CWST 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 CWST shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$85.00	$3.98
Buy 1	Put	$85.00	$3.43

CWST straddle risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$740.00
Max Profit (per contract): Unbounded
Max Loss (per contract): -$733.61
Breakeven(s): $77.60, $92.40
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.

CWST straddle payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on CWST. 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%	+$7,759.00
$18.88	-77.9%	+$5,871.75
$37.75	-55.8%	+$3,984.51
$56.63	-33.7%	+$2,097.26
$75.50	-11.6%	+$210.02
$94.37	+10.6%	+$197.23
$113.24	+32.7%	+$2,084.48
$132.12	+54.8%	+$3,971.72
$150.99	+76.9%	+$5,858.97
$169.86	+99.0%	+$7,746.22

When traders use straddle on CWST

Straddles on CWST are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy CWST straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.

CWST thesis for this straddle

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CWST extends from approximately $76.43 on the downside to $94.29 on the upside. A CWST 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 CWST IV rank near 5.97% 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 CWST at 36.50%. As a Industrials name, CWST options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CWST-specific events.

CWST 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. CWST positions also carry Industrials sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CWST alongside the broader basket even when CWST-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current CWST chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a straddle on CWST?: A straddle on CWST is the straddle strategy applied to CWST (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 CWST stock trading near $85.36, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CWST chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are CWST 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 CWST straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 36.50%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$733.61 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a CWST straddle?: The breakeven for the CWST straddle priced on this page is roughly $77.60 and $92.40 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 CWST market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.46%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a straddle on CWST?: Straddles on CWST are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy CWST 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 CWST implied volatility affect this straddle?: CWST ATM IV is at 36.50% with IV rank near 5.97%, 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.