NEO Butterfly Strategy
NEO (NeoGenomics, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Diagnostics & Research industry), listed on NASDAQ.
NeoGenomics, Inc. operates a network of cancer-focused testing laboratories in the United States, Europe, and Asia. It operates through, Clinical Services and Pharma Services segments. The company offers testing services to hospitals, reference labs, pathologists, oncologists, clinicians, pharmaceutical firms, and researchers. It provides cytogenetics testing services to study normal and abnormal chromosomes and their relationship to diseases; fluorescence in-situ hybridization testing services that focus on detecting and locating the presence or absence of specific DNA sequences and genes on chromosomes; flow cytometry testing services to measure the characteristics of cell populations; and immunohistochemistry and digital imaging testing services to localize cellular proteins in tissue section, as well as to allow clients to visualize scanned slides, and perform quantitative analysis for various stains. The company also provides molecular testing services, which focus on the analysis of DNA and/or RNA, and the structure and function of genes at the molecular level; morphologic analysis, which is the process of analyzing cells under the microscope by a pathologist for the purpose of diagnosis; and testing services in support of its pharmaceutical clients' oncology programs covering discovery and commercialization, as well as acts as a reference laboratory supplying anatomic pathology testing services. It has a strategic alliance agreement and laboratory services agreement with Inivata Limited.
NEO (NeoGenomics, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Diagnostics & Research, with a market capitalization of approximately $215.1M, a beta of 1.80 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 4.72-13.74, average daily share volume of 2.1M, a public-listing history dating back to 2004, approximately 2K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how NEO stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.80 indicates NEO 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 NEO?
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 NEO snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $8.29, ATM IV 76.30%, IV rank 14.57%, expected move 21.87%. The butterfly on NEO 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 NEO specifically: NEO IV at 76.30% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a NEO butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 21.87% (roughly $1.81 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 NEO expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on NEO should anchor to the underlying notional of $8.29 per share and to the trader's directional view on NEO stock.
NEO butterfly setup
The NEO 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 NEO near $8.29, the first option leg uses a $7.88 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed NEO 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 NEO shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $7.88 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $8.29 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $8.70 | N/A |
NEO 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.
NEO butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on NEO. 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 NEO
Butterflies on NEO are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect NEO 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.
NEO thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for NEO extends from approximately $6.48 on the downside to $10.10 on the upside. A NEO long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if NEO settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current NEO IV rank near 14.57% 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 NEO at 76.30%. As a Healthcare name, NEO options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to NEO-specific events.
NEO 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. NEO positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move NEO alongside the broader basket even when NEO-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current NEO chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on NEO?
- A butterfly on NEO is the butterfly strategy applied to NEO (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 NEO stock trading near $8.29, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed NEO chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are NEO 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 NEO butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 76.30%), 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 NEO butterfly?
- The breakeven for the NEO 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 NEO market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 21.87%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on NEO?
- Butterflies on NEO are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect NEO 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 NEO implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- NEO ATM IV is at 76.30% with IV rank near 14.57%, 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.