ISRG Straddle Strategy
ISRG (Intuitive Surgical, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Instruments & Supplies industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets products that enable physicians and healthcare providers to enhance the quality of and access to minimally invasive care in the United States and internationally. The company offers the da Vinci Surgical System to enable complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach; and Ion endoluminal system, which extends its commercial offerings beyond surgery into diagnostic procedures enabling minimally invasive biopsies in the lung. It also provides a suite of stapling, energy, and core instrumentation for its surgical systems; progressive learning pathways to support the use of its technology; a complement of services to its customers, including support, installation, repair, and maintenance; and integrated digital capabilities providing unified and connected offerings, streamlining performance for hospitals with program-enhancing insights. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
ISRG (Intuitive Surgical, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Instruments & Supplies, with a market capitalization of approximately $153.09B, a trailing P/E of 51.50, a beta of 1.51 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 417.74-603.88, average daily share volume of 1.9M, a public-listing history dating back to 2000, approximately 16K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how ISRG stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.51 indicates ISRG has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. The trailing P/E of 51.50 is on the rich side, which tends to correlate with higher earnings-window IV expansion as the market debates whether forward growth supports the multiple.
What is a straddle on ISRG?
A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration.
Current ISRG snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $421.16, ATM IV 32.05%, IV rank 34.20%, expected move 9.19%. The straddle on ISRG 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 28-day expiry.
Why this straddle structure on ISRG specifically: ISRG IV at 32.05% 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 9.19% (roughly $38.70 on the underlying). The 28-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated ISRG expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on ISRG should anchor to the underlying notional of $421.16 per share and to the trader's directional view on ISRG stock.
ISRG straddle setup
The ISRG straddle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With ISRG near $421.16, the first option leg uses a $420.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed ISRG chain at a 28-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 ISRG shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $420.00 | $16.10 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $420.00 | $14.00 |
ISRG straddle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$3,010.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$2,914.86
- Breakeven(s)
- $389.90, $450.10
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- Unbounded
Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit.
ISRG straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on ISRG. 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% | +$38,989.00 |
| $93.13 | -77.9% | +$29,677.03 |
| $186.25 | -55.8% | +$20,365.06 |
| $279.37 | -33.7% | +$11,053.09 |
| $372.49 | -11.6% | +$1,741.12 |
| $465.61 | +10.6% | +$1,550.85 |
| $558.73 | +32.7% | +$10,862.82 |
| $651.85 | +54.8% | +$20,174.79 |
| $744.97 | +76.9% | +$29,486.76 |
| $838.09 | +99.0% | +$38,798.73 |
When traders use straddle on ISRG
Straddles on ISRG are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy ISRG straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
ISRG thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ISRG extends from approximately $382.46 on the downside to $459.86 on the upside. A ISRG long straddle is a pure-volatility play: it profits when the underlying moves far enough from the strike in either direction to overcome the combined call plus put debit, regardless of direction. Current ISRG IV rank near 34.20% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the straddle thesis on ISRG should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Healthcare name, ISRG options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to ISRG-specific events.
ISRG straddle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium); 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. ISRG positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move ISRG alongside the broader basket even when ISRG-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current ISRG chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on ISRG?
- A straddle on ISRG is the straddle strategy applied to ISRG (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium): A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration. With ISRG stock trading near $421.16, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed ISRG chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are ISRG straddle max profit and max loss calculated?
- Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit. For the ISRG straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 32.05%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$2,914.86 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a ISRG straddle?
- The breakeven for the ISRG straddle priced on this page is roughly $389.90 and $450.10 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 ISRG market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 9.19%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on ISRG?
- Straddles on ISRG are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy ISRG straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
- How does current ISRG implied volatility affect this straddle?
- ISRG ATM IV is at 32.05% with IV rank near 34.20%, 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.