PDSB Butterfly Strategy
PDSB (PDS Biotechnology Corporation), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
PDS Biotechnology Corporation, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing multifunctional cancer immunotherapies. Its lead product candidate is PDS0101 (HPV16), which is in Phase II clinical trial provides a first line treatment for the recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer, human papillomavirus associated malignancies, and cervical cancer. The company is also developing various product candidates, which are in preclinical trials, including PDS0102 T-cell receptor gamma alternate reading frame protein (TARP) for treating prostate and breast cancers; PDS0103 (MUC-1) for ovarian, colorectal, lung, and breast cancers; and PDS0104, which include Tyrosinase-related protein 2 for the treatment of melanoma. In addition, it is developing PDS0201 for treating tuberculosis; PDS0202, an influenza vaccine candidate; and PDS0203, a vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19. The company has a license and collaboration agreements with National Institutes of Health, Merck Eprova AG, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and MSD International GmbH.
PDSB (PDS Biotechnology Corporation) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $74.2M, a beta of 1.50 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 0.507-1.915, average daily share volume of 764K, a public-listing history dating back to 2015, approximately 24 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how PDSB stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.50 indicates PDSB 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 PDSB?
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 PDSB snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $1.35, ATM IV 31.40%, IV rank 2.98%, expected move 9.00%. The butterfly on PDSB 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 PDSB specifically: PDSB IV at 31.40% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a PDSB butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 9.00% (roughly $0.12 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 PDSB expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on PDSB should anchor to the underlying notional of $1.35 per share and to the trader's directional view on PDSB stock.
PDSB butterfly setup
The PDSB 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 PDSB near $1.35, the first option leg uses a $1.28 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed PDSB 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 PDSB shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $1.28 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $1.35 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $1.42 | N/A |
PDSB 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.
PDSB butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on PDSB. 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 PDSB
Butterflies on PDSB are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect PDSB 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.
PDSB thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for PDSB extends from approximately $1.23 on the downside to $1.47 on the upside. A PDSB long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if PDSB settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current PDSB IV rank near 2.98% 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 PDSB at 31.40%. As a Healthcare name, PDSB options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to PDSB-specific events.
PDSB 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. PDSB positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move PDSB alongside the broader basket even when PDSB-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current PDSB chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on PDSB?
- A butterfly on PDSB is the butterfly strategy applied to PDSB (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 PDSB stock trading near $1.35, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed PDSB chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are PDSB 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 PDSB butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 31.40%), 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 PDSB butterfly?
- The breakeven for the PDSB 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 PDSB market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 9.00%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on PDSB?
- Butterflies on PDSB are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect PDSB 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 PDSB implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- PDSB ATM IV is at 31.40% with IV rank near 2.98%, 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.