HTLD Iron Condor Strategy
HTLD (Heartland Express, Inc.), in the Industrials sector, (Trucking industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Heartland Express, Inc., operating with its subsidiaries, functions as a transportation company primarily focusing on short to medium-distance truckload freight across the United States and Canada. The firm's main services encompass extensive asset-based dry van truckload hauling, covering the entire contiguous U.S. from coast to coast, as well as specialized temperature-controlled logistics. These services are delivered under its prominent brand names, Heartland Express and Millis Transfer. Its customer base largely comprises retailers and manufacturers within the consumer goods, appliance, foodstuff, and automotive industries. The company was established 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 $952.3M, a beta of 1.33 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 7-16.64, average daily share volume of 578K, a public-listing history dating back to 1986, approximately 4K 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 1.33 indicates HTLD has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. 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.
HTLD snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $12.75, ATM IV 29.50%, IV rank 9.80%, expected move 8.46%. The iron condor on HTLD 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 iron condor structure on HTLD specifically: HTLD IV at 29.50% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling HTLD iron condor collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 8.46% (roughly $1.08 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 HTLD expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on HTLD should anchor to the underlying notional of $12.75 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 at $12.75 on that close, the first option leg uses a $13.39 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 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 HTLD shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Call | $13.39 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $14.03 | N/A |
| Sell 1 | Put | $12.11 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Put | $11.48 | 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 $11.67 on the downside to $13.83 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 9.80% 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 HTLD at 29.50%. 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 at $12.75 on the most recent close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed HTLD chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's 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 29.50%), 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 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 HTLD market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 8.46%; 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 29.50% with IV rank near 9.80%, 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.