HTLD Iron Condor Strategy
HTLD (Heartland Express, Inc.), in the Industrials sector, (Trucking industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Heartland Express, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers from Washington to Florida and New England to California; and temperature-controlled truckload services. The company offers its services under the Heartland Express and Millis Transfer brand names. It primarily serves retailers and manufacturers in consumer goods, appliances, food products, and automotive industries. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa.
HTLD (Heartland Express, Inc.) trades in the Industrials sector, specifically Trucking, with a market capitalization of approximately $954.3M, a beta of 1.28 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 7-13.92, average daily share volume of 450K, a public-listing history dating back to 1986, approximately 5K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how HTLD stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.28 places HTLD roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. HTLD pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a iron condor on HTLD?
An iron condor sells a call spread and a put spread at strikes outside spot, collecting net premium that is kept if the underlying stays inside the inner short strikes.
Current HTLD snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $13.41, ATM IV 61.80%, IV rank 34.25%, expected move 17.72%. The iron condor on HTLD 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 iron condor structure on HTLD specifically: HTLD IV at 61.80% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so the credit collected on a HTLD iron condor sits in line with its long-run distribution, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 17.72% (roughly $2.38 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 HTLD expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on HTLD should anchor to the underlying notional of $13.41 per share and to the trader's directional view on HTLD stock.
HTLD iron condor setup
The HTLD iron condor below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With HTLD near $13.41, the first option leg uses a $14.08 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed HTLD 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 HTLD shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Call | $14.08 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $14.75 | N/A |
| Sell 1 | Put | $12.74 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Put | $12.07 | N/A |
HTLD iron condor 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 net credit times 100 inside the inner strikes; max loss equals wing width minus credit times 100. Two breakevens at inner strikes plus and minus the credit.
HTLD iron condor payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the iron condor on HTLD. 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 iron condor on HTLD
Iron condors on HTLD are a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that profits if HTLD stock stays inside the inner short strikes; short strikes typically sit near 1 standard deviation from spot.
HTLD thesis for this iron condor
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for HTLD extends from approximately $11.03 on the downside to $15.79 on the upside. A HTLD iron condor is a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that pays off when HTLD stays inside the inner short strikes through expiration; the wing width should reflect the trader's tolerance for the maximum loss scenario where the underlying breaches an outer strike. Current HTLD IV rank near 34.25% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the iron condor thesis on HTLD should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Industrials name, HTLD options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to HTLD-specific events.
HTLD iron condor positions are structurally neutral / range-bound; 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. HTLD positions also carry Industrials sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move HTLD alongside the broader basket even when HTLD-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a iron condor on HTLD carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical HTLD earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current HTLD chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a iron condor on HTLD?
- A iron condor on HTLD is the iron condor strategy applied to HTLD (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / range-bound: An iron condor sells a call spread and a put spread at strikes outside spot, collecting net premium that is kept if the underlying stays inside the inner short strikes. With HTLD stock trading near $13.41, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed HTLD chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are HTLD iron condor max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the net credit times 100 inside the inner strikes; max loss equals wing width minus credit times 100. Two breakevens at inner strikes plus and minus the credit. For the HTLD iron condor priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 61.80%), 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 HTLD iron condor?
- The breakeven for the HTLD iron condor 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 HTLD market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 17.72%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a iron condor on HTLD?
- Iron condors on HTLD are a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that profits if HTLD stock stays inside the inner short strikes; short strikes typically sit near 1 standard deviation from spot.
- How does current HTLD implied volatility affect this iron condor?
- HTLD ATM IV is at 61.80% with IV rank near 34.25%, 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.