How are PSN 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 PSN butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 43.90%), the computed maximum profit is $225.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$275.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a PSN butterfly?

The breakeven for the PSN butterfly priced on this page is roughly $52.25 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 PSN market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 12.59%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current PSN implied volatility affect this butterfly?

PSN ATM IV is at 43.90% with IV rank near 9.48%, 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.

PSN Butterfly Strategy

PSN (Parsons Corporation), in the Industrials sector, (Industrial - Machinery industry), listed on NYSE.

Parsons Corporation provides integrated solutions and services in the defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets in North America, the Middle East, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure. The company offers cyber security and intelligence services, as well as offensive and defensive cybersecurity platforms, tools, and operations to the U.S. Department of Defense and the United States intelligence community; space and geospatial solutions, such as geospatial intelligence, threat analytics, space situational awareness, small satellite launch and integration, satellite ground systems, fight dynamics, and command, and control solutions to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, and multiple units within the U.S. Department of Defense. It also provides missile defense and C5ISR solutions, such as integrated air and missile defense, data fusion and analytics, platform system integration, directed energy, joint all-domain operations, and command and control systems to Defense Intelligence Agency and the U.S.

PSN (Parsons Corporation) trades in the Industrials sector, specifically Industrial - Machinery, with a market capitalization of approximately $5.39B, a trailing P/E of 23.68, a beta of 0.60 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 48.23-89.5, average daily share volume of 1.3M, a public-listing history dating back to 2019, approximately 20K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how PSN stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.60 indicates PSN has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure.

What is a butterfly on PSN?

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 PSN snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $50.19, ATM IV 43.90%, IV rank 9.48%, expected move 12.59%. The butterfly on PSN 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 PSN specifically: PSN IV at 43.90% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a PSN butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 12.59% (roughly $6.32 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 PSN expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on PSN should anchor to the underlying notional of $50.19 per share and to the trader's directional view on PSN stock.

PSN butterfly setup

The PSN 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 PSN near $50.19, the first option leg uses a $50.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed PSN 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 PSN shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$50.00	$2.93
Sell 2	Call	$50.00	$2.93
Buy 1	Call	$55.00	$0.68

PSN butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: +$225.00
Max Profit (per contract): $225.00
Max Loss (per contract): -$275.00
Breakeven(s): $52.25
Risk / Reward Ratio: 0.818

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.

PSN butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on PSN. 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	-100.0%	+$225.00
$11.11	-77.9%	+$225.00
$22.20	-55.8%	+$225.00
$33.30	-33.7%	+$225.00
$44.39	-11.5%	+$225.00
$55.49	+10.6%	-$275.00
$66.59	+32.7%	-$275.00
$77.68	+54.8%	-$275.00
$88.78	+76.9%	-$275.00
$99.88	+99.0%	-$275.00

When traders use butterfly on PSN

Butterflies on PSN are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect PSN 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.

PSN thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for PSN extends from approximately $43.87 on the downside to $56.51 on the upside. A PSN long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if PSN settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current PSN IV rank near 9.48% 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 PSN at 43.90%. As a Industrials name, PSN options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to PSN-specific events.

PSN 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. PSN positions also carry Industrials sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move PSN alongside the broader basket even when PSN-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current PSN chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on PSN?: A butterfly on PSN is the butterfly strategy applied to PSN (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 PSN stock trading near $50.19, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed PSN chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are PSN 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 PSN butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 43.90%), the computed maximum profit is $225.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$275.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a PSN butterfly?: The breakeven for the PSN butterfly priced on this page is roughly $52.25 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 PSN market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 12.59%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on PSN?: Butterflies on PSN are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect PSN 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 PSN implied volatility affect this butterfly?: PSN ATM IV is at 43.90% with IV rank near 9.48%, 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.