HBIO Butterfly Strategy
HBIO (Harvard Bioscience, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Instruments & Supplies industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Harvard Bioscience, Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells technologies, products, and services that enables fundamental research, discovery, and pre-clinical testing for drug development in the United States and internationally. The company offers cellular and molecular technology instruments, such as syringe and peristaltic pump products, as well as a range of instruments and accessories for tissue and organ-based lab research, including surgical products, infusion systems, and behavior research systems; and spectrophotometers, microplate readers, amino acid analyzers, gel electrophoresis equipment, and electroporation and electrofusion instruments. It also engages in the development and manufacture of precision scientific measuring instrumentation and equipment, which cover data acquisition systems with custom amplifier configurations for cellular analysis, micro electrode array solutions for in vivo recordings, and vitro-systems for extracellular recordings; and offers preclinical products. The company markets its products through sales organizations, websites, catalogs, and distributors to research scientists in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, hospitals, and government laboratories, as well as to contract research organizations, academic labs, and government researchers. It primarily sells its products under Harvard Apparatus, DSI, Ponemah, Buxco, Biochrom, BTX, and MCS brand names. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Holliston, Massachusetts.
HBIO (Harvard Bioscience, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Instruments & Supplies, with a market capitalization of approximately $24.9M, a beta of 1.57 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 2.8-9.5, average daily share volume of 54K, a public-listing history dating back to 2001, approximately 330 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how HBIO stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.57 indicates HBIO 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 HBIO?
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 HBIO snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $5.94, ATM IV 200.40%, IV rank 41.34%, expected move 57.45%. The butterfly on HBIO 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 98-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on HBIO specifically: HBIO IV at 200.40% 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 57.45% (roughly $3.41 on the underlying). The 98-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated HBIO expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on HBIO should anchor to the underlying notional of $5.94 per share and to the trader's directional view on HBIO stock.
HBIO butterfly setup
The HBIO 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 HBIO near $5.94, the first option leg uses a $5.64 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed HBIO chain at a 98-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 HBIO shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $5.64 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $5.94 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $6.24 | N/A |
HBIO 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.
HBIO butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on HBIO. 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 HBIO
Butterflies on HBIO are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect HBIO 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.
HBIO thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for HBIO extends from approximately $2.53 on the downside to $9.35 on the upside. A HBIO long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if HBIO settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current HBIO IV rank near 41.34% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on HBIO should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Healthcare name, HBIO options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to HBIO-specific events.
HBIO 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. HBIO positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move HBIO alongside the broader basket even when HBIO-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current HBIO chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on HBIO?
- A butterfly on HBIO is the butterfly strategy applied to HBIO (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 HBIO stock trading near $5.94, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed HBIO chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are HBIO 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 HBIO butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 200.40%), 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 HBIO butterfly?
- The breakeven for the HBIO 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 HBIO market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 57.45%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on HBIO?
- Butterflies on HBIO are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect HBIO 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 HBIO implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- HBIO ATM IV is at 200.40% with IV rank near 41.34%, 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.