Is NDAQ options pricing rich or cheap right now?

As of Jun 30, 2026, Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) ATM IV is 33.9% against 20-day realized volatility of 40.3%. IV rank is 72.6%. Realized volatility currently exceeds implied: an inversion of the typical equity volatility risk premium that often precedes IV expansion.

What is the NDAQ variance risk premium?

The variance risk premium is the persistent gap between implied and subsequently realized volatility. In equity markets it averages positive because option sellers demand compensation for bearing variance shocks. NDAQ is currently pricing inverted to the historical pattern, which is one input to whether short-vol or long-vol structures carry their typical edge.

What does NDAQ IV rank mean for strategy selection?

IV rank normalizes the current ATM IV to its 1-year range: 0% is the low, 100% is the high. NDAQ's current rank of 72.6% signals where current pricing sits in its own 1-year history. High-rank regimes typically favor premium-selling structures (credit spreads, condors, covered calls); low-rank regimes typically favor premium-buying or long-volatility structures.

Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) IV/HV History

Comparing implied volatility to historical (realized) volatility reveals whether options are priced rich or cheap relative to actual price movement. Persistent gaps can signal trading opportunities.

Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) operates in the Financial Services sector, specifically the Financial - Data & Stock Exchanges industry, with a market capitalization near $44.43B, listed on NASDAQ, employing roughly 9,377 people, carrying a beta of 0.97 to the broader market. Nasdaq, Inc. Led by Adena T. Friedman, public since 2002-07-01.

Snapshot as of Jun 30, 2026.

Spot Price: $78.93
ATM IV: 33.9%
HV 20-Day: 40.3%
HV 60-Day: 30.9%
IV Rank: 72.6%
IV Percentile: 96.8%

As of Jun 30, 2026, Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) ATM implied volatility is 33.9%. 20-day realized volatility is 40.3%, producing an IV-HV spread of -6.4 vol points. Realized volatility currently exceeds implied, an inversion that can signal a pending IV expansion. IV rank is 72.6%.

How NDAQ iv/hv history Data Feeds Strategy Selection

Strategy selection on Nasdaq, Inc. options does not derive from any single metric in isolation. The iv/hv history view above sits inside a broader read: ATM IV currently sits at 33.9% and dealer gamma exposure is negative, so dealer hedging amplifies directional moves. Combine the iv/hv history data here with the volatility-skew surface, dealer-gamma exposure, max-pain level, and upcoming-events calendar to build a positioning thesis. Risk-defined structures (credit spreads, debit spreads, iron condors) are usually safer than naked positions while the regime is uncertain; the data on this page anchors the inputs but does not by itself constitute a trade thesis.

How to read the NDAQ IV vs HV chart

The dual-line chart above tracks ATM implied volatility (forward-looking, what the chain is pricing) against 20-day realized historical volatility (backward-looking, what actually happened). ATM IV currently prints at 33.9%, 72.6% IV rank, against 40.3% realized over the trailing 20 trading days. Implied is currently below realized by 6.4 vol points, an inverted regime where premium buyers are underpaying for the move - rare and often a setup for IV expansion. Persistent IV-above-HV is the variance-risk-premium-positive state typical of equity markets; persistent IV-below-HV is rare and usually marks underpriced vol that often expands.

NDAQ IV/HV regimes and trade selection

NDAQ sits in the top quartile of its 1-year IV range. High-IV-rank regimes statistically favor premium-selling - the elevated implied is more likely to mean-revert than to expand further. Iron condors, covered calls, and cash-secured puts collect more premium per unit of notional risk; size wings to the implied move and exit on first sign of HV catching up.

Using NDAQ vol history alongside the term structure

The IV/HV gap on this page captures the level of premium; the term-structure slope on the volatility page captures its shape across expirations. Term structure is roughly flat at -0.004, no strong near vs far premium being priced. Pair the rank read with the slope read with the event calendar to choose the right tenor for the structure.

NDAQ IV/HV signal in volatility-cycle context

Equity-vol cycles tend to compress and expand on multi-month timeframes: a typical sequence runs low-IV-rank consolidation (months of flat tape, decaying premium) into a vol-expansion catalyst (earnings miss, macro shock, regime change) into elevated-IV-rank stress (premiums fat, dispersion high) back to mean-reverting compression. NDAQ's current 72.6% IV rank places the ticker in the expansion or stress phase of that cycle. Premium-selling carries the typical structural tailwind here, but the mean-reverting compression that completes the cycle has historically arrived sharply rather than gradually. The ratio of HV-20 (40.3%) to HV-60 (30.9%) gives a second cycle indicator: when 20-day exceeds 60-day, recent realization is running hotter than the trailing-quarter average - typically a sign that recent days have already started expanding vol regardless of where IV rank prints. Use the time series above to spot inflection points: meaningful IV/HV gap closures and openings tend to precede regime shifts by a few sessions.

Learn how implied vs realized volatility is reported and how to read the data →

Daily ATM implied volatility and 20-day realized (historical) volatility for NDAQ over the last ~41 trading days. The IV-HV gap measures the variance risk premium - when IV trades persistently above realized HV, premium-sellers earn the spread; when IV dips below HV, vol is structurally underpriced.

Daily values from end-of-day option_ticker_snapshots. Series sparse on illiquid tickers reflects gaps in the upstream end-of-day options data feed.

Most recent 15 trading days (descending). Older history appears in the chart above.

Date	ATM IV	HV 20d	HV 60d	IV Rank
Jun 30, 2026	33.9%	40.3%	30.9%	72.6%
Jun 29, 2026	34.9%	39.1%	30.7%	76.7%
Jun 26, 2026	33.4%	39.8%	30.5%	70.5%
Jun 25, 2026	33.2%	39.8%	30.9%	69.9%
Jun 24, 2026	34.5%	37.2%	29.8%	75.1%
Jun 23, 2026	32.5%	37.2%	30.2%	67.1%
Jun 22, 2026	33.9%	37.5%	30.2%	72.6%
Jun 18, 2026	34.2%	37.5%	30.3%	74.0%
Jun 17, 2026	33.5%	38.0%	30.7%	71.0%
Jun 16, 2026	25.6%	30.5%	27.6%	38.9%
Jun 15, 2026	25.7%	30.3%	27.3%	39.1%
Jun 12, 2026	28.7%	28.4%	26.7%	51.6%
Jun 11, 2026	30.9%	28.0%	26.7%	60.4%
Jun 10, 2026	29.6%	28.1%	26.8%	55.1%
Jun 9, 2026	29.2%	28.8%	26.8%	53.3%

Frequently asked NDAQ iv/hv history questions

Is NDAQ options pricing rich or cheap right now?: As of Jun 30, 2026, Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) ATM IV is 33.9% against 20-day realized volatility of 40.3%. IV rank is 72.6%. Realized volatility currently exceeds implied: an inversion of the typical equity volatility risk premium that often precedes IV expansion.
What is the NDAQ variance risk premium?: The variance risk premium is the persistent gap between implied and subsequently realized volatility. In equity markets it averages positive because option sellers demand compensation for bearing variance shocks. NDAQ is currently pricing inverted to the historical pattern, which is one input to whether short-vol or long-vol structures carry their typical edge.
What does NDAQ IV rank mean for strategy selection?: IV rank normalizes the current ATM IV to its 1-year range: 0% is the low, 100% is the high. NDAQ's current rank of 72.6% signals where current pricing sits in its own 1-year history. High-rank regimes typically favor premium-selling structures (credit spreads, condors, covered calls); low-rank regimes typically favor premium-buying or long-volatility structures.