How are MKTX strangle max profit and max loss calculated?

Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit. For the MKTX strangle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 33.80%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$580.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a MKTX strangle?

The breakeven for the MKTX strangle priced on this page is roughly $124.20 and $150.80 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 MKTX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 9.69%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current MKTX implied volatility affect this strangle?

MKTX ATM IV is at 33.80% with IV rank near 41.25%, 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.

MKTX Strangle Strategy

MKTX (MarketAxess Holdings Inc.), in the Financial Services sector, (Financial - Capital Markets industry), listed on NASDAQ.

MarketAxess Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates an electronic trading platform for institutional investor and broker-dealer companies worldwide. It offers the access to liquidity in the U.S. investment-grade bonds, U.S. high-yield bonds, and U.S. Treasuries, as well as municipal bonds, emerging market debts, Eurobonds, and other fixed income securities. The company, through its Open Trading protocols, executes bond trades between and among institutional investor and broker-dealer clients in an all-to-all anonymous trading environment for corporate bonds. It also offers trading-related products and services, including composite+ pricing and other market data products to assist clients with trading decisions; auto-execution and other execution services for clients requiring specialized workflow solutions; connectivity solutions that facilitate straight-through processing; and technology services to optimize trading environments. In addition, the company provides various pre-and post-trade services, such as trade matching, trade publication, regulatory transaction reporting, and market and reference data across a range of fixed-income and other products.

MKTX (MarketAxess Holdings Inc.) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Financial - Capital Markets, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.95B, a trailing P/E of 15.89, a beta of 0.92 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 137.27-228.16, average daily share volume of 489K, a public-listing history dating back to 2004, approximately 891 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how MKTX stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.92 places MKTX roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. MKTX pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a strangle on MKTX?

A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money.

Current MKTX snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $139.44, ATM IV 33.80%, IV rank 41.25%, expected move 9.69%. The strangle on MKTX 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 strangle structure on MKTX specifically: MKTX IV at 33.80% 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 9.69% (roughly $13.51 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 MKTX expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on MKTX should anchor to the underlying notional of $139.44 per share and to the trader's directional view on MKTX stock.

MKTX strangle setup

The MKTX strangle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With MKTX near $139.44, the first option leg uses a $145.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed MKTX 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 MKTX shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$145.00	$3.33
Buy 1	Put	$130.00	$2.48

MKTX strangle risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$580.00
Max Profit (per contract): Unbounded
Max Loss (per contract): -$580.00
Breakeven(s): $124.20, $150.80
Risk / Reward Ratio: Unbounded

Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit.

MKTX strangle payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the strangle on MKTX. 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%	+$12,419.00
$30.84	-77.9%	+$9,336.02
$61.67	-55.8%	+$6,253.03
$92.50	-33.7%	+$3,170.05
$123.33	-11.6%	+$87.06
$154.16	+10.6%	+$335.92
$184.99	+32.7%	+$3,418.91
$215.82	+54.8%	+$6,501.89
$246.65	+76.9%	+$9,584.88
$277.48	+99.0%	+$12,667.86

When traders use strangle on MKTX

Strangles on MKTX are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the MKTX chain.

MKTX thesis for this strangle

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for MKTX extends from approximately $125.93 on the downside to $152.95 on the upside. A MKTX long strangle is the OTM cousin of the straddle: lower up-front cost but the underlying has to travel further past either OTM strike before the position turns profitable at expiration. Current MKTX IV rank near 41.25% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the strangle thesis on MKTX should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Financial Services name, MKTX options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to MKTX-specific events.

MKTX strangle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium, OTM); 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. MKTX positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move MKTX alongside the broader basket even when MKTX-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current MKTX chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a strangle on MKTX?: A strangle on MKTX is the strangle strategy applied to MKTX (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium, OTM): A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money. With MKTX stock trading near $139.44, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed MKTX chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are MKTX strangle max profit and max loss calculated?: Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit. For the MKTX strangle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 33.80%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$580.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a MKTX strangle?: The breakeven for the MKTX strangle priced on this page is roughly $124.20 and $150.80 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 MKTX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 9.69%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a strangle on MKTX?: Strangles on MKTX are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the MKTX chain.
How does current MKTX implied volatility affect this strangle?: MKTX ATM IV is at 33.80% with IV rank near 41.25%, 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.