How are CYTK 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 CYTK straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 49.30%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$887.07 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a CYTK straddle?

The breakeven for the CYTK straddle priced on this page is roughly $65.90 and $84.10 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 CYTK market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 14.13%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current CYTK implied volatility affect this straddle?

CYTK ATM IV is at 49.30% with IV rank near 2.71%, 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.

CYTK Straddle Strategy

CYTK (Cytokinetics, Incorporated), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.

Cytokinetics, Incorporated, a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing muscle activators and inhibitors as potential treatments for debilitating diseases. The company develops small molecule drug candidates primarily engineered to impact muscle function and contractility. Its drug candidates include omecamtiv mecarbil, a novel cardiac myosin activator that is in Phase III clinical trial in patients with heart failure; and reldesemtiv, a skeletal muscle troponin activator, which is in Phase III clinical trial to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy. The company also develops CK-136, a novel cardiac troponin activator that is in Phase I clinical trial; aficamten, a novel cardiac myosin inhibitor, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of patients with symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; and CK-3772271, a small molecule cardiac myosin inhibitor that is in Phase I clinical trial. Cytokinetics, Incorporated has a strategic alliance with Astellas Pharma Inc. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

CYTK (Cytokinetics, Incorporated) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $9.61B, a beta of 0.38 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 29.31-80.2, average daily share volume of 2.5M, a public-listing history dating back to 2004, approximately 498 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CYTK stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.38 indicates CYTK 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 CYTK?

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 CYTK snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $75.91, ATM IV 49.30%, IV rank 2.71%, expected move 14.13%. The straddle on CYTK 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 CYTK specifically: CYTK IV at 49.30% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a CYTK straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 14.13% (roughly $10.73 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 CYTK expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CYTK should anchor to the underlying notional of $75.91 per share and to the trader's directional view on CYTK stock.

CYTK straddle setup

The CYTK 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 CYTK near $75.91, the first option leg uses a $75.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CYTK 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 CYTK shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$75.00	$5.25
Buy 1	Put	$75.00	$3.85

CYTK straddle risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$910.00
Max Profit (per contract): Unbounded
Max Loss (per contract): -$887.07
Breakeven(s): $65.90, $84.10
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.

CYTK straddle payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on CYTK. 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%	+$6,589.00
$16.79	-77.9%	+$4,910.70
$33.58	-55.8%	+$3,232.40
$50.36	-33.7%	+$1,554.10
$67.14	-11.6%	-$124.21
$83.93	+10.6%	-$17.49
$100.71	+32.7%	+$1,660.81
$117.49	+54.8%	+$3,339.11
$134.27	+76.9%	+$5,017.41
$151.06	+99.0%	+$6,695.71

When traders use straddle on CYTK

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

CYTK thesis for this straddle

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CYTK extends from approximately $65.18 on the downside to $86.64 on the upside. A CYTK 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 CYTK IV rank near 2.71% 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 CYTK at 49.30%. As a Healthcare name, CYTK options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CYTK-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a straddle on CYTK?: A straddle on CYTK is the straddle strategy applied to CYTK (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 CYTK stock trading near $75.91, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CYTK chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are CYTK 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 CYTK straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 49.30%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$887.07 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a CYTK straddle?: The breakeven for the CYTK straddle priced on this page is roughly $65.90 and $84.10 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 CYTK market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 14.13%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a straddle on CYTK?: Straddles on CYTK are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy CYTK 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 CYTK implied volatility affect this straddle?: CYTK ATM IV is at 49.30% with IV rank near 2.71%, 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.