NDLS Iron Condor Strategy
NDLS (Noodles & Company), in the Consumer Cyclical sector, (Restaurants industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Noodles & Company, a restaurant concept company, develops and operates fast-casual restaurants. It offers cooked-to-order dishes, including noodles and pasta, soups, salads, and appetizers. As of December 28, 2021, the company operated 448 restaurants in 29 states, which included 372 company locations and 76 franchise locations. Noodles & Company was founded in 1995 and is based in Broomfield, Colorado.
NDLS (Noodles & Company) trades in the Consumer Cyclical sector, specifically Restaurants, with a market capitalization of approximately $75.0M, a beta of 1.44 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 3.57-13.95, average daily share volume of 96K, a public-listing history dating back to 2013, approximately 7K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how NDLS stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.44 indicates NDLS 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 iron condor on NDLS?
An iron condor sells a call spread and a put spread at strikes outside spot, collecting net premium that is kept if the underlying stays inside the inner short strikes.
Current NDLS snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $12.25, ATM IV 43.80%, IV rank 3.18%, expected move 12.56%. The iron condor on NDLS 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 98-day expiry.
Why this iron condor structure on NDLS specifically: NDLS IV at 43.80% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling NDLS iron condor collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 12.56% (roughly $1.54 on the underlying). The 98-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated NDLS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on NDLS should anchor to the underlying notional of $12.25 per share and to the trader's directional view on NDLS stock.
NDLS iron condor setup
The NDLS iron condor below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With NDLS near $12.25, the first option leg uses a $12.86 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed NDLS chain at a 98-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 NDLS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Call | $12.86 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $13.48 | N/A |
| Sell 1 | Put | $11.64 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Put | $11.03 | N/A |
NDLS iron condor 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 net credit times 100 inside the inner strikes; max loss equals wing width minus credit times 100. Two breakevens at inner strikes plus and minus the credit.
NDLS iron condor payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the iron condor on NDLS. 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 iron condor on NDLS
Iron condors on NDLS are a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that profits if NDLS stock stays inside the inner short strikes; short strikes typically sit near 1 standard deviation from spot.
NDLS thesis for this iron condor
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for NDLS extends from approximately $10.71 on the downside to $13.79 on the upside. A NDLS iron condor is a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that pays off when NDLS stays inside the inner short strikes through expiration; the wing width should reflect the trader's tolerance for the maximum loss scenario where the underlying breaches an outer strike. Current NDLS IV rank near 3.18% 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 NDLS at 43.80%. As a Consumer Cyclical name, NDLS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to NDLS-specific events.
NDLS iron condor positions are structurally neutral / range-bound; 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. NDLS positions also carry Consumer Cyclical sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move NDLS alongside the broader basket even when NDLS-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a iron condor on NDLS carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical NDLS earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current NDLS chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a iron condor on NDLS?
- A iron condor on NDLS is the iron condor strategy applied to NDLS (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / range-bound: An iron condor sells a call spread and a put spread at strikes outside spot, collecting net premium that is kept if the underlying stays inside the inner short strikes. With NDLS stock trading near $12.25, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed NDLS chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are NDLS iron condor max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the net credit times 100 inside the inner strikes; max loss equals wing width minus credit times 100. Two breakevens at inner strikes plus and minus the credit. For the NDLS iron condor priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 43.80%), 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 NDLS iron condor?
- The breakeven for the NDLS iron condor 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 NDLS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 12.56%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a iron condor on NDLS?
- Iron condors on NDLS are a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that profits if NDLS stock stays inside the inner short strikes; short strikes typically sit near 1 standard deviation from spot.
- How does current NDLS implied volatility affect this iron condor?
- NDLS ATM IV is at 43.80% with IV rank near 3.18%, 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.