KPTI Straddle Strategy
KPTI (Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc., a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes drugs directed against nuclear export for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. The company discovers, develops, and commercializes novel and Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear Export (SINE) compounds function by binding with and inhibiting the nuclear export protein XPO1. Its lead compound, include XPOVIO in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma, in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma, and for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The company has license agreement with Menarini Group to develop and commercialize NEXPOVIO for human oncology indications in Europe, including the United Kingdom; Latin America; and other countries. Its oral SINE compounds also designed to force nuclear accumulation in the levels of multiple tumor suppressor and growth regulatory proteins. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts.
KPTI (Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $75.6M, a beta of 0.81 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 3.65-10.99, average daily share volume of 936K, a public-listing history dating back to 2013, approximately 279 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how KPTI stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.81 places KPTI roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline.
What is a straddle on KPTI?
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 KPTI snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $7.72, ATM IV 111.90%, IV rank 11.69%, expected move 32.08%. The straddle on KPTI 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 straddle structure on KPTI specifically: KPTI IV at 111.90% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a KPTI straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 32.08% (roughly $2.48 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 KPTI expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on KPTI should anchor to the underlying notional of $7.72 per share and to the trader's directional view on KPTI stock.
KPTI straddle setup
The KPTI 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 KPTI near $7.72, the first option leg uses a $7.72 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed KPTI 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 KPTI shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $7.72 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Put | $7.72 | N/A |
KPTI straddle 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
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.
KPTI straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on KPTI. 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 straddle on KPTI
Straddles on KPTI are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy KPTI straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
KPTI thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for KPTI extends from approximately $5.24 on the downside to $10.20 on the upside. A KPTI 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 KPTI IV rank near 11.69% 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 KPTI at 111.90%. As a Healthcare name, KPTI options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to KPTI-specific events.
KPTI 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. KPTI positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move KPTI alongside the broader basket even when KPTI-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current KPTI chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on KPTI?
- A straddle on KPTI is the straddle strategy applied to KPTI (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 KPTI stock trading near $7.72, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed KPTI chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are KPTI 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 KPTI straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 111.90%), 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 KPTI straddle?
- The breakeven for the KPTI straddle 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 KPTI market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 32.08%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on KPTI?
- Straddles on KPTI are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy KPTI 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 KPTI implied volatility affect this straddle?
- KPTI ATM IV is at 111.90% with IV rank near 11.69%, 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.