NVAX Straddle Strategy
NVAX (Novavax, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Novavax, Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases and address health needs. The company's vaccine candidates include NVX-CoV2373, a coronavirus vaccine candidate that is in two Phase III trials, one Phase IIb trial, and one Phase I/II trial; NanoFlu, a nanoparticle seasonal quadrivalent influenza vaccine candidate that is in Phase 3 clinical trial; and ResVax, a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) fusion (F) protein nanoparticle vaccine candidate. It is also developing RSV F vaccine that is in Phase II clinical trial for older adults (60 years and older), as well as that is in Phase I clinical trial for pediatrics. It has a collaboration agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of NVX-CoV2373, a COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Novavax, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
NVAX (Novavax, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.52B, a beta of 2.37 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 5.96-11.97, average daily share volume of 4.7M, a public-listing history dating back to 1995, approximately 952 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how NVAX stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 2.37 indicates NVAX 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 straddle on NVAX?
A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration.
Current NVAX snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $9.09, ATM IV 76.19%, IV rank 22.76%, expected move 21.84%. The straddle on NVAX 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 28-day expiry.
Why this straddle structure on NVAX specifically: NVAX IV at 76.19% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a NVAX straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 21.84% (roughly $1.99 on the underlying). The 28-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated NVAX expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on NVAX should anchor to the underlying notional of $9.09 per share and to the trader's directional view on NVAX stock.
NVAX straddle setup
The NVAX straddle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With NVAX near $9.09, the first option leg uses a $9.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed NVAX chain at a 28-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 NVAX shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $9.00 | $0.93 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $9.00 | $0.64 |
NVAX straddle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$157.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$152.80
- Breakeven(s)
- $7.43, $10.57
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- Unbounded
Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit.
NVAX straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on NVAX. 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.
| Underlying Price | % From Spot | P&L at Expiration |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01 | -99.9% | +$742.00 |
| $2.02 | -77.8% | +$541.13 |
| $4.03 | -55.7% | +$340.25 |
| $6.04 | -33.6% | +$139.38 |
| $8.04 | -11.5% | -$61.50 |
| $10.05 | +10.6% | -$51.63 |
| $12.06 | +32.7% | +$149.25 |
| $14.07 | +54.8% | +$350.12 |
| $16.08 | +76.9% | +$550.99 |
| $18.09 | +99.0% | +$751.87 |
When traders use straddle on NVAX
Straddles on NVAX are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy NVAX straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
NVAX thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for NVAX extends from approximately $7.10 on the downside to $11.08 on the upside. A NVAX long straddle is a pure-volatility play: it profits when the underlying moves far enough from the strike in either direction to overcome the combined call plus put debit, regardless of direction. Current NVAX IV rank near 22.76% 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 NVAX at 76.19%. As a Healthcare name, NVAX options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to NVAX-specific events.
NVAX straddle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium); 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. NVAX positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move NVAX alongside the broader basket even when NVAX-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current NVAX chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on NVAX?
- A straddle on NVAX is the straddle strategy applied to NVAX (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium): A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration. With NVAX stock trading near $9.09, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed NVAX chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are NVAX straddle max profit and max loss calculated?
- Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit. For the NVAX straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 76.19%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$152.80 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a NVAX straddle?
- The breakeven for the NVAX straddle priced on this page is roughly $7.43 and $10.57 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 NVAX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 21.84%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on NVAX?
- Straddles on NVAX are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy NVAX straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
- How does current NVAX implied volatility affect this straddle?
- NVAX ATM IV is at 76.19% with IV rank near 22.76%, 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.