MNOV Butterfly Strategy
MNOV (MediciNova, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing novel and small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases with unmet medical needs in the United States. The company is developing MN-166 (ibudilast), an oral anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective agent for treating neurological disorders, such as primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, degenerative cervical myelopathy, glioblastoma, and substance dependence and addiction. Its product pipeline also includes MN-221 (bedoradrine), a selective beta-2-adrenergic receptor agonist for the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma; MN-001 (tipelukast), an orally bioavailable small molecule compound to treat fibrotic diseases, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; and MN-029 (denibulin), a tubulin binding agent for treating solid tumor cancers. The company has collaboration agreements with Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd; Angiogene Pharmaceuticals Ltd.; and Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd. MediciNova, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in La Jolla, California.
MNOV (MediciNova, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $67.4M, a beta of 0.63 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 1.17-1.96, average daily share volume of 48K, a public-listing history dating back to 2006, approximately 13 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how MNOV stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.63 indicates MNOV has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure.
What is a butterfly on MNOV?
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 MNOV snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $1.38, ATM IV 21.70%, IV rank 0.28%, expected move 6.22%. The butterfly on MNOV 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 MNOV specifically: MNOV IV at 21.70% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a MNOV butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 6.22% (roughly $0.09 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 MNOV expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on MNOV should anchor to the underlying notional of $1.38 per share and to the trader's directional view on MNOV stock.
MNOV butterfly setup
The MNOV 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 MNOV near $1.38, the first option leg uses a $1.31 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed MNOV 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 MNOV shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $1.31 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $1.38 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $1.45 | N/A |
MNOV 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.
MNOV butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on MNOV. 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 MNOV
Butterflies on MNOV are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect MNOV 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.
MNOV thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for MNOV extends from approximately $1.29 on the downside to $1.47 on the upside. A MNOV long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if MNOV settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current MNOV IV rank near 0.28% 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 MNOV at 21.70%. As a Healthcare name, MNOV options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to MNOV-specific events.
MNOV 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. MNOV positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move MNOV alongside the broader basket even when MNOV-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current MNOV chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on MNOV?
- A butterfly on MNOV is the butterfly strategy applied to MNOV (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 MNOV stock trading near $1.38, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed MNOV chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are MNOV 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 MNOV butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 21.70%), 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 MNOV butterfly?
- The breakeven for the MNOV 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 MNOV market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 6.22%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on MNOV?
- Butterflies on MNOV are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect MNOV 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 MNOV implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- MNOV ATM IV is at 21.70% with IV rank near 0.28%, 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.