HCAT Bear Put Spread Strategy
HCAT (Health Catalyst, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Healthcare Information Services industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Health Catalyst, Inc. equips healthcare providers with crucial data and analytical technologies, alongside specialized services. Their extensive product line features a robust, enterprise-level data and analytics platform designed specifically for the healthcare sector. They additionally offer advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and data science solutions that integrate AI seamlessly into existing business intelligence tools, thereby enhancing analytical precision. The company's services also cover population health management, which identifies areas for improvement throughout the patient care journey, offering actionable recommendations and automated processes. For financial effectiveness, they provide critical insights into cost analysis, workforce efficiency, and revenue maximization. Moreover, Health Catalyst contributes to improving quality and safety by leveraging clinical and patient safety data, sophisticated analytics, and expert consulting.
HCAT (Health Catalyst, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Healthcare Information Services, with a market capitalization of approximately $132.3M, a beta of 1.57 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 0.955-3.8, average daily share volume of 1.3M, a public-listing history dating back to 2019, approximately 1K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how HCAT stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.57 indicates HCAT 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 bear put spread on HCAT?
A bear put spread buys an at-the-money put and sells an out-of-the-money put at a lower strike for defined risk and defined reward bounded by the strike width.
HCAT snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $1.85, ATM IV 172.00%, IV rank 63.92%, expected move 49.31%. The bear put spread on HCAT below is built from the end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 35-day expiry.
Why this bear put spread structure on HCAT specifically: HCAT IV at 172.00% 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 49.31% (roughly $0.91 on the underlying). The 35-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated HCAT expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on HCAT should anchor to the underlying notional of $1.85 per share and to the trader's directional view on HCAT stock.
HCAT bear put spread setup
The HCAT bear put spread below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With HCAT at $1.85 on that close, the first option leg uses a $1.85 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed HCAT chain at a 35-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 HCAT shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Put | $1.85 | N/A |
| Sell 1 | Put | $1.76 | N/A |
HCAT bear put spread 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 strike width minus net debit times 100; max loss equals net debit times 100. Breakeven is long-put strike minus net debit.
HCAT bear put spread payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the bear put spread on HCAT. 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 bear put spread on HCAT
Bear put spreads on HCAT reduce the cost of a bearish HCAT stock position by selling a lower-strike put; suited to moderate-decline theses where price reaches but does not vastly exceed the short strike.
HCAT thesis for this bear put spread
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for HCAT extends from approximately $0.94 on the downside to $2.76 on the upside. A HCAT bear put spread caps both the risk and the reward of a bearish position; relative to an outright long put on HCAT, the spread reduces the cost basis but limits the maximum profit to the strike width minus net debit. Current HCAT IV rank near 63.92% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the bear put spread thesis on HCAT should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Healthcare name, HCAT options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to HCAT-specific events.
HCAT bear put spread positions are structurally moderately bearish; 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. HCAT positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move HCAT alongside the broader basket even when HCAT-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Long-premium structures like a bear put spread on HCAT are particularly exposed to IV-crush risk through scheduled events (earnings, FDA decisions, central-bank meetings) where IV typically contracts post-event regardless of the directional outcome. Always rebuild the position from current HCAT chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a bear put spread on HCAT?
- A bear put spread on HCAT is the bear put spread strategy applied to HCAT (stock). The strategy is structurally moderately bearish: A bear put spread buys an at-the-money put and sells an out-of-the-money put at a lower strike for defined risk and defined reward bounded by the strike width. With HCAT stock at $1.85 on the most recent close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed HCAT chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are HCAT bear put spread max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals strike width minus net debit times 100; max loss equals net debit times 100. Breakeven is long-put strike minus net debit. For the HCAT bear put spread priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 172.00%), 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 HCAT bear put spread?
- The breakeven for the HCAT bear put spread priced on this page is no defined breakeven on the modeled curve at expiration, derived from the end-of-day chain's premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The HCAT market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 49.31%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a bear put spread on HCAT?
- Bear put spreads on HCAT reduce the cost of a bearish HCAT stock position by selling a lower-strike put; suited to moderate-decline theses where price reaches but does not vastly exceed the short strike.
- How does current HCAT implied volatility affect this bear put spread?
- HCAT ATM IV is at 172.00% with IV rank near 63.92%, 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.