How are HQY strangle max profit and max loss calculated?

Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit. For the HQY strangle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 51.90%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$800.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a HQY strangle?

The breakeven for the HQY strangle priced on this page is roughly $72.00 and $93.00 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 HQY market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 14.88%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current HQY implied volatility affect this strangle?

HQY ATM IV is at 51.90% with IV rank near 10.37%, 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.

HQY Strangle Strategy

HQY (HealthEquity, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Healthcare Information Services industry), listed on NASDAQ.

HealthEquity, Inc. provides technology-enabled services platforms to consumers and employers in the United States. The company offers cloud-based platforms for individuals to make health saving and spending decisions, pay healthcare bills, compare treatment options and prices, receive personalized benefit and clinical information, earn wellness incentives, grow their savings, and make investment choices; and health savings accounts. It also provides mutual fund investment platform; and online-only automated investment advisory services through Advisor, a Web-based tool. In addition, the company offers flexible spending accounts; health reimbursement arrangements; and Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act continuation services, as well as administers pre-tax commuter benefit programs. It serves clients through a direct sales force; benefits brokers and advisors; and a network of health plans, benefits administrators, benefits brokers and consultants, and retirement plan record-keepers. The company was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Draper, Utah.

HQY (HealthEquity, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Healthcare Information Services, with a market capitalization of approximately $6.94B, a trailing P/E of 32.89, a beta of 0.19 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 72.76-116.65, average daily share volume of 922K, a public-listing history dating back to 2014, approximately 3K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how HQY stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.19 indicates HQY 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 strangle on HQY?

A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money.

Current HQY snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $82.11, ATM IV 51.90%, IV rank 10.37%, expected move 14.88%. The strangle on HQY 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 strangle structure on HQY specifically: HQY IV at 51.90% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a HQY strangle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 14.88% (roughly $12.22 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 HQY expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on HQY should anchor to the underlying notional of $82.11 per share and to the trader's directional view on HQY stock.

HQY strangle setup

The HQY strangle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With HQY near $82.11, 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 HQY 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 HQY shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$85.00	$4.10
Buy 1	Put	$80.00	$3.90

HQY strangle risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$800.00
Max Profit (per contract): Unbounded
Max Loss (per contract): -$800.00
Breakeven(s): $72.00, $93.00
Risk / Reward Ratio: Unbounded

Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit.

HQY strangle payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the strangle on HQY. 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%	+$7,199.00
$18.16	-77.9%	+$5,383.61
$36.32	-55.8%	+$3,568.23
$54.47	-33.7%	+$1,752.84
$72.63	-11.6%	-$62.55
$90.78	+10.6%	-$222.07
$108.93	+32.7%	+$1,593.32
$127.09	+54.8%	+$3,408.71
$145.24	+76.9%	+$5,224.10
$163.39	+99.0%	+$7,039.48

When traders use strangle on HQY

Strangles on HQY are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the HQY chain.

HQY thesis for this strangle

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for HQY extends from approximately $69.89 on the downside to $94.33 on the upside. A HQY long strangle is the OTM cousin of the straddle: lower up-front cost but the underlying has to travel further past either OTM strike before the position turns profitable at expiration. Current HQY IV rank near 10.37% 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 HQY at 51.90%. As a Healthcare name, HQY options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to HQY-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a strangle on HQY?: A strangle on HQY is the strangle strategy applied to HQY (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium, OTM): A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money. With HQY stock trading near $82.11, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed HQY chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are HQY strangle max profit and max loss calculated?: Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit. For the HQY strangle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 51.90%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$800.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a HQY strangle?: The breakeven for the HQY strangle priced on this page is roughly $72.00 and $93.00 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 HQY market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 14.88%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a strangle on HQY?: Strangles on HQY are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the HQY chain.
How does current HQY implied volatility affect this strangle?: HQY ATM IV is at 51.90% with IV rank near 10.37%, 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.