LEU Butterfly Strategy
LEU (Centrus Energy Corp.), in the Energy sector, (Uranium industry), listed on NYSE.
Centrus Energy Corp. is a global provider of essential nuclear fuel and associated services to the nuclear power industry, serving markets including the United States, Japan, and Belgium. The company operates through two primary divisions: Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) and Technical Solutions. The LEU segment specializes in supplying key components for nuclear energy production, offering separative work units (SWU) — either as a standalone part of LEU or combined with natural uranium — as well as natural uranium, primarily to utilities operating nuclear power plants. Conversely, the Technical Solutions segment offers a comprehensive array of services, encompassing technical expertise, manufacturing, engineering design, procurement, construction management, and operational support. This segment caters to both public and private sector clients, with notable involvement in projects such as the engineering and testing of the American Centrifuge. Established in 1998, the company was formerly known as USEC Inc. before officially changing its name to Centrus Energy Corp. in September 2014.
LEU (Centrus Energy Corp.) trades in the Energy sector, specifically Uranium, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.51B, a trailing P/E of 75.85, a beta of 1.35 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 142.13-464.25, average daily share volume of 875K, a public-listing history dating back to 1998, approximately 467 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how LEU stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.35 indicates LEU 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 75.85 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. LEU pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on LEU?
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.
LEU snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $191.33, ATM IV 66.60%, IV rank 0.00%, expected move 19.09%. The butterfly on LEU below is built from the August 14, 2026 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 butterfly structure on LEU specifically: LEU IV at 66.60% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a LEU butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 19.09% (roughly $36.53 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 LEU expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on LEU should anchor to the underlying notional of $191.33 per share and to the trader's directional view on LEU stock.
LEU butterfly setup
The LEU butterfly below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With LEU at $191.33 on that close, the first option leg uses a $180.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed LEU 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 LEU shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $180.00 | $21.75 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $190.00 | $16.35 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $200.00 | $12.30 |
LEU butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$135.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $827.64
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$135.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $181.35, $198.65
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 6.131
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.
LEU butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on LEU. 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% | -$135.00 |
| $42.31 | -77.9% | -$135.00 |
| $84.62 | -55.8% | -$135.00 |
| $126.92 | -33.7% | -$135.00 |
| $169.22 | -11.6% | -$135.00 |
| $211.53 | +10.6% | -$135.00 |
| $253.83 | +32.7% | -$135.00 |
| $296.13 | +54.8% | -$135.00 |
| $338.43 | +76.9% | -$135.00 |
| $380.74 | +99.0% | -$135.00 |
When traders use butterfly on LEU
Butterflies on LEU are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect LEU 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.
LEU thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for LEU extends from approximately $154.80 on the downside to $227.86 on the upside. A LEU long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if LEU settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current LEU IV rank near 0.00% 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 LEU at 66.60%. As a Energy name, LEU options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to LEU-specific events.
LEU 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. LEU positions also carry Energy sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move LEU alongside the broader basket even when LEU-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current LEU chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on LEU?
- A butterfly on LEU is the butterfly strategy applied to LEU (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 LEU stock at $191.33 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed LEU chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are LEU 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 LEU butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 66.60%), the computed maximum profit is $827.64 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$135.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a LEU butterfly?
- The breakeven for the LEU butterfly priced on this page is roughly $181.35 and $198.65 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 2026 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 LEU market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 19.09%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on LEU?
- Butterflies on LEU are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect LEU 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 LEU implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- LEU ATM IV is at 66.60% with IV rank near 0.00%, 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.