LASR Butterfly Strategy
LASR (nLIGHT, Inc.), in the Technology sector, (Semiconductors industry), listed on NASDAQ.
nLIGHT, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells semiconductor and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, and aerospace and defense applications. It operates in two segments, Laser Products and Advanced Development. The company also provides fiber amplifiers, and beam combination and control systems for use in high-energy laser systems in directed energy applications. It sells its products through direct sales force in the United States, China, South Korea, and European countries, as well as through various independent sales representatives and distributors in Asia, Europe, and South America. The company was formerly known as nLight Photonics Corporation and changed its name to nLIGHT, Inc. in January 2016. nLIGHT, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Camas, Washington.
LASR (nLIGHT, Inc.) trades in the Technology sector, specifically Semiconductors, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.54B, a beta of 2.34 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 12.17-86.95, average daily share volume of 1.8M, a public-listing history dating back to 2018, approximately 800 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how LASR stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 2.34 indicates LASR has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position.
What is a butterfly on LASR?
A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration.
Current LASR snapshot
As of May 13, 2026, spot at $81.06, ATM IV 106.10%, IV rank 64.56%, expected move 30.42%. The butterfly on LASR 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 butterfly structure on LASR specifically: LASR IV at 106.10% 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 30.42% (roughly $24.66 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 LASR expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on LASR should anchor to the underlying notional of $81.06 per share and to the trader's directional view on LASR stock.
LASR butterfly setup
The LASR butterfly below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With LASR near $81.06, the first option leg uses a $77.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed LASR 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 LASR shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $77.00 | $8.30 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $81.00 | $6.85 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $85.00 | $5.65 |
LASR butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$25.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $340.77
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$25.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $77.09, $84.79
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 13.631
Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit.
LASR butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on LASR. 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% | -$25.00 |
| $17.93 | -77.9% | -$25.00 |
| $35.85 | -55.8% | -$25.00 |
| $53.78 | -33.7% | -$25.00 |
| $71.70 | -11.6% | -$25.00 |
| $89.62 | +10.6% | -$25.00 |
| $107.54 | +32.7% | -$25.00 |
| $125.46 | +54.8% | -$25.00 |
| $143.38 | +76.9% | -$25.00 |
| $161.31 | +99.0% | -$25.00 |
When traders use butterfly on LASR
Butterflies on LASR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect LASR to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
LASR thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for LASR extends from approximately $56.40 on the downside to $105.72 on the upside. A LASR long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if LASR settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current LASR IV rank near 64.56% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on LASR should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Technology name, LASR options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to LASR-specific events.
LASR butterfly positions are structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward); 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. LASR positions also carry Technology sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move LASR alongside the broader basket even when LASR-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current LASR chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on LASR?
- A butterfly on LASR is the butterfly strategy applied to LASR (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward): A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration. With LASR stock trading near $81.06, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed LASR chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are LASR butterfly max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit. For the LASR butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 106.10%), the computed maximum profit is $340.77 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$25.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a LASR butterfly?
- The breakeven for the LASR butterfly priced on this page is roughly $77.09 and $84.79 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 LASR market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 30.42%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on LASR?
- Butterflies on LASR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect LASR to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
- How does current LASR implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- LASR ATM IV is at 106.10% with IV rank near 64.56%, 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.