LIVN Straddle Strategy
LIVN (LivaNova PLC), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Devices industry), listed on NASDAQ.
LivaNova PLC is a global medical technology company dedicated to developing, manufacturing, and marketing a variety of therapeutic solutions. The company operates through three key segments. Its Cardiopulmonary division provides essential products for heart-lung procedures, such as oxygenators, heart-lung machines, and various perfusion systems. The Neuromodulation segment is known for its VNS Therapy System, an implantable device that delivers vagus nerve stimulation to treat drug-resistant epilepsy, difficult-to-treat depression, and obstructive sleep apnea. This segment is also advancing the VITARIA System, which employs VNS for heart failure, through clinical development. The Advanced Circulatory Support segment offers temporary life support solutions, including both cardiopulmonary and respiratory support technologies.
LIVN (LivaNova PLC) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Devices, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.44B, a trailing P/E of 23.56, a beta of 0.86 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 48.82-85.76, average daily share volume of 770K, a public-listing history dating back to 2015, approximately 3K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how LIVN stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.86 places LIVN roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline.
What is a straddle on LIVN?
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.
LIVN snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $82.12, ATM IV 36.80%, IV rank 3.00%, expected move 10.55%. The straddle on LIVN 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 straddle structure on LIVN specifically: LIVN IV at 36.80% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a LIVN straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 10.55% (roughly $8.66 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 LIVN expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on LIVN should anchor to the underlying notional of $82.12 per share and to the trader's directional view on LIVN stock.
LIVN straddle setup
The LIVN straddle 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 LIVN at $82.12 on that close, the first option leg uses a $82.50 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed LIVN 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 LIVN shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $82.50 | $3.65 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $82.50 | $4.20 |
LIVN straddle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$785.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$781.24
- Breakeven(s)
- $74.65, $90.35
- 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.
LIVN straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on LIVN. 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% | +$7,464.00 |
| $18.17 | -77.9% | +$5,648.39 |
| $36.32 | -55.8% | +$3,832.78 |
| $54.48 | -33.7% | +$2,017.18 |
| $72.63 | -11.6% | +$201.57 |
| $90.79 | +10.6% | +$44.04 |
| $108.95 | +32.7% | +$1,859.65 |
| $127.10 | +54.8% | +$3,675.26 |
| $145.26 | +76.9% | +$5,490.86 |
| $163.41 | +99.0% | +$7,306.47 |
When traders use straddle on LIVN
Straddles on LIVN are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy LIVN straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
LIVN thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for LIVN extends from approximately $73.46 on the downside to $90.78 on the upside. A LIVN 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 LIVN IV rank near 3.00% 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 LIVN at 36.80%. As a Healthcare name, LIVN options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to LIVN-specific events.
LIVN 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. LIVN positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move LIVN alongside the broader basket even when LIVN-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current LIVN chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on LIVN?
- A straddle on LIVN is the straddle strategy applied to LIVN (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 LIVN stock at $82.12 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed LIVN chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are LIVN 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 LIVN straddle priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 36.80%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$781.24 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a LIVN straddle?
- The breakeven for the LIVN straddle priced on this page is roughly $74.65 and $90.35 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 LIVN market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 10.55%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on LIVN?
- Straddles on LIVN are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy LIVN 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 LIVN implied volatility affect this straddle?
- LIVN ATM IV is at 36.80% with IV rank near 3.00%, 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.