HCAT Butterfly 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 butterfly on HCAT?
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.
HCAT snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $1.85, ATM IV 172.00%, IV rank 63.92%, expected move 49.31%. The butterfly 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 butterfly 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 butterfly setup
The HCAT 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 HCAT at $1.85 on that close, the first option leg uses a $1.76 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 | Call | $1.76 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $1.85 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $1.94 | N/A |
HCAT 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.
HCAT butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly 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 butterfly on HCAT
Butterflies on HCAT are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect HCAT 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.
HCAT thesis for this butterfly
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 long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if HCAT settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current HCAT IV rank near 63.92% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly 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 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. 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. Always rebuild the position from current HCAT chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on HCAT?
- A butterfly on HCAT is the butterfly strategy applied to HCAT (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 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 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 HCAT butterfly 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 butterfly?
- The breakeven for the HCAT butterfly 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 butterfly on HCAT?
- Butterflies on HCAT are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect HCAT 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 HCAT implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- 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.