NPCE Butterfly Strategy
NPCE (NeuroPace, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Devices industry), listed on NASDAQ.
NeuroPace, Inc. operates as a medical device company in the United States. It develops and sells RNS system, a brain-responsive neuromodulation system for treating medically refractory focal epilepsy by delivering personalized real-time treatment at the seizure source. The company's RNS system also records continuous brain activity data; and enables clinicians to monitor patients in person and remotely. It sells its products to hospital facilities for initial RNS system implant procedures and for replacement procedures. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
NPCE (NeuroPace, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Devices, with a market capitalization of approximately $536.8M, a beta of 1.93 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 7.563-19.6, average daily share volume of 211K, a public-listing history dating back to 2021, approximately 184 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how NPCE stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.93 indicates NPCE 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 NPCE?
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 NPCE snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $15.09, ATM IV 72.00%, IV rank 10.22%, expected move 20.64%. The butterfly on NPCE 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 NPCE specifically: NPCE IV at 72.00% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a NPCE butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 20.64% (roughly $3.11 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 NPCE expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on NPCE should anchor to the underlying notional of $15.09 per share and to the trader's directional view on NPCE stock.
NPCE butterfly setup
The NPCE 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 NPCE near $15.09, the first option leg uses a $14.34 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed NPCE 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 NPCE shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $14.34 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $15.09 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $15.84 | N/A |
NPCE 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.
NPCE butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on NPCE. 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 NPCE
Butterflies on NPCE are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect NPCE 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.
NPCE thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for NPCE extends from approximately $11.98 on the downside to $18.20 on the upside. A NPCE long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if NPCE settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current NPCE IV rank near 10.22% 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 NPCE at 72.00%. As a Healthcare name, NPCE options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to NPCE-specific events.
NPCE 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. NPCE positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move NPCE alongside the broader basket even when NPCE-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current NPCE chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on NPCE?
- A butterfly on NPCE is the butterfly strategy applied to NPCE (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 NPCE stock trading near $15.09, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed NPCE chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are NPCE 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 NPCE butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 72.00%), 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 NPCE butterfly?
- The breakeven for the NPCE 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 NPCE market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 20.64%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on NPCE?
- Butterflies on NPCE are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect NPCE 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 NPCE implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- NPCE ATM IV is at 72.00% with IV rank near 10.22%, 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.