PTGX Butterfly Strategy
PTGX (Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical firm dedicated to discovering and advancing peptide-based therapies. Their research primarily focuses on treatments for hematological and blood conditions, as well as inflammatory and immune-mediated disorders. The company's pipeline features rusfertide (PTG-300), an injectable hepcidin mimetic currently undergoing Phase II clinical trials for the management of polycythemia vera, hereditary hemochromatosis, and other blood-related ailments. Also in Phase II development is PN-943, an oral peptide engineered as a specific antagonist of alpha-4-beta-7 integrin, intended for addressing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Furthermore, they are progressing PN-235, an orally administered antagonist specifically targeting the interleukin-23 receptor, designed for both IBD and various non-IBD therapeutic applications. Protagonist Therapeutics maintains a licensing and collaborative agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc.
PTGX (Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $9.78B, a trailing P/E of 120.89, a beta of 1.79 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 54.18-152.7, average daily share volume of 687K, a public-listing history dating back to 2016, approximately 132 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how PTGX stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.79 indicates PTGX has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. The trailing P/E of 120.89 is on the rich side, which tends to correlate with higher earnings-window IV expansion as the market debates whether forward growth supports the multiple.
What is a butterfly on PTGX?
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.
PTGX snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $154.93, ATM IV 43.30%, IV rank 5.28%, expected move 12.41%. The butterfly on PTGX below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 35-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on PTGX specifically: PTGX IV at 43.30% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a PTGX butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 12.41% (roughly $19.23 on the underlying). The 35-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated PTGX expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on PTGX should anchor to the underlying notional of $154.93 per share and to the trader's directional view on PTGX stock.
PTGX butterfly setup
The PTGX butterfly below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With PTGX at $154.93 on that close, the first option leg uses a $145.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed PTGX chain at a 35-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 PTGX shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $145.00 | $14.10 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $155.00 | $7.80 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $165.00 | $4.25 |
PTGX butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$275.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $653.65
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$275.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $147.75, $162.25
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 2.377
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.
PTGX butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on PTGX. 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% | -$275.00 |
| $34.26 | -77.9% | -$275.00 |
| $68.52 | -55.8% | -$275.00 |
| $102.77 | -33.7% | -$275.00 |
| $137.03 | -11.6% | -$275.00 |
| $171.28 | +10.6% | -$275.00 |
| $205.54 | +32.7% | -$275.00 |
| $239.79 | +54.8% | -$275.00 |
| $274.05 | +76.9% | -$275.00 |
| $308.30 | +99.0% | -$275.00 |
When traders use butterfly on PTGX
Butterflies on PTGX are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect PTGX 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.
PTGX thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for PTGX extends from approximately $135.70 on the downside to $174.16 on the upside. A PTGX long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if PTGX settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current PTGX IV rank near 5.28% 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 PTGX at 43.30%. As a Healthcare name, PTGX options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to PTGX-specific events.
PTGX 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. PTGX positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move PTGX alongside the broader basket even when PTGX-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current PTGX chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on PTGX?
- A butterfly on PTGX is the butterfly strategy applied to PTGX (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 PTGX stock at $154.93 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed PTGX chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are PTGX 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 PTGX butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 43.30%), the computed maximum profit is $653.65 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 PTGX butterfly?
- The breakeven for the PTGX butterfly priced on this page is roughly $147.75 and $162.25 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain's premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The PTGX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 12.41%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on PTGX?
- Butterflies on PTGX are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect PTGX 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 PTGX implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- PTGX ATM IV is at 43.30% with IV rank near 5.28%, 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.