MAZE Butterfly Strategy
MAZE (Maze Therapeutics, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Maze Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops small molecule precision medicines for the treatment of kidney and metabolic diseases in the United States. Its lead programs include MZE829, an oral small molecule inhibitor of apolipoprotein L1, or APOL1, which is in phase II clinical trial for the treatment of patients with APOL1 kidney disease; and MZE782, an oral small molecule inhibitor that is in phase II ready clinical trial for the treatment of phenylketonuria and chronic kidney disease. The company also develops MZE001, an investigational oral small molecule inhibitor of muscle-specific glycogen synthase clinical program for the treatment of Pompe disease. It has a license agreement with Trace Neuroscience, Inc. to discovery research program targets UNC13A; the Shionogi & Co., Ltd to research, develop, manufacture, and commercialize MZE001; and Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. to discover research program that targets ATXN2. The company was formerly known as Modulus Therapeutics, Inc. and changed its name to Maze Therapeutics, Inc. in September 2018. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is based in South San Francisco, California.
MAZE (Maze Therapeutics, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.50B, a beta of 2.21 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 12.81-53.65, average daily share volume of 633K, a public-listing history dating back to 2025, approximately 141 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how MAZE stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 2.21 indicates MAZE 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 MAZE?
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.
MAZE snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $27.55, ATM IV 72.50%, IV rank 16.34%, expected move 20.79%. The butterfly on MAZE below is built from the 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 MAZE specifically: MAZE IV at 72.50% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a MAZE butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 20.79% (roughly $5.73 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 MAZE expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on MAZE should anchor to the underlying notional of $27.55 per share and to the trader's directional view on MAZE stock.
MAZE butterfly setup
The MAZE 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 MAZE at $27.55 on that close, the first option leg uses a $26.17 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed MAZE 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 MAZE shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $26.17 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $27.55 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $28.93 | N/A |
MAZE 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.
MAZE butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on MAZE. 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 MAZE
Butterflies on MAZE are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect MAZE 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.
MAZE thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for MAZE extends from approximately $21.82 on the downside to $33.28 on the upside. A MAZE long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if MAZE settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current MAZE IV rank near 16.34% 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 MAZE at 72.50%. As a Healthcare name, MAZE options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to MAZE-specific events.
MAZE 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. MAZE positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move MAZE alongside the broader basket even when MAZE-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current MAZE chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on MAZE?
- A butterfly on MAZE is the butterfly strategy applied to MAZE (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 MAZE stock at $27.55 on the most recent close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed MAZE chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are MAZE 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 MAZE butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 72.50%), 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 MAZE butterfly?
- The breakeven for the MAZE butterfly priced on this page is no defined breakeven on the modeled curve at expiration, derived from the 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 MAZE market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 20.79%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on MAZE?
- Butterflies on MAZE are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect MAZE 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 MAZE implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- MAZE ATM IV is at 72.50% with IV rank near 16.34%, 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.