LFCR Butterfly Strategy
LFCR (Lifecore Biomedical, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated contract development and manufacturing organization in the United States and internationally. It operates through Lifecore, Curation Foods, and Other segments. The Lifecore segment engages in the manufacture of pharmaceutical-grade sodium hyaluronate (HA) in bulk form, as well as formulated and filled syringes and vials for injectable products used in treating a range of medical conditions and procedures. It also provides services, including technology development, material component changes, analytical method development, formulation development, pilot studies, stability studies, process validation, and production of materials for clinical studies to its partners for HA-based and non-HA based aseptically formulated and filled products. This segment sells its non-HA products for medical use primarily in the ophthalmic, orthopedic, and other markets. The Curation Foods segment engages in processing, marketing, and selling of olive oils and wine vinegars under the O brand; and guacamole and avocado food products under the Yucatan and Cabo Fresh brands, as well as various private labels.
LFCR (Lifecore Biomedical, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic, with a market capitalization of approximately $168.8M, a beta of 1.08 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 3.63-8.98, average daily share volume of 329K, a public-listing history dating back to 1996, approximately 524 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how LFCR stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.08 places LFCR roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline.
What is a butterfly on LFCR?
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 LFCR snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $4.42, ATM IV 31.40%, IV rank 4.08%, expected move 9.00%. The butterfly on LFCR 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 butterfly structure on LFCR specifically: LFCR IV at 31.40% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a LFCR butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 9.00% (roughly $0.40 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 LFCR expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on LFCR should anchor to the underlying notional of $4.42 per share and to the trader's directional view on LFCR stock.
LFCR butterfly setup
The LFCR 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 LFCR near $4.42, the first option leg uses a $4.20 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed LFCR 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 LFCR shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $4.20 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $4.42 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $4.64 | N/A |
LFCR butterfly 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 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.
LFCR butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on LFCR. 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 butterfly on LFCR
Butterflies on LFCR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect LFCR 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.
LFCR thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for LFCR extends from approximately $4.02 on the downside to $4.82 on the upside. A LFCR long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if LFCR settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current LFCR IV rank near 4.08% 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 LFCR at 31.40%. As a Healthcare name, LFCR options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to LFCR-specific events.
LFCR 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. LFCR positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move LFCR alongside the broader basket even when LFCR-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current LFCR chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on LFCR?
- A butterfly on LFCR is the butterfly strategy applied to LFCR (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 LFCR stock trading near $4.42, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed LFCR chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are LFCR 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 LFCR butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 31.40%), 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 LFCR butterfly?
- The breakeven for the LFCR butterfly 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 LFCR market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 9.00%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on LFCR?
- Butterflies on LFCR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect LFCR 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 LFCR implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- LFCR ATM IV is at 31.40% with IV rank near 4.08%, 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.