RARE Butterfly Strategy

RARE (Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the identification, acquisition, development, and commercialization of novel products for the treatment of rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases in North America, Europe, and internationally. Its biologic products include Crysvita (burosumab), an antibody targeting fibroblast growth factor 23 for the treatment of X-linked hypophosphatemia, as well as tumor-induced osteomalacia; Mepsevii, an enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of children and adults with Mucopolysaccharidosis VII; Dojolvi for treating long-chain fatty acid oxidation disorders; and Evkeeza (evinacumab) for the treatment of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. The company's products candidatures include DTX401, an adeno-associated virus 8 (AAV8) gene therapy clinical candidate for the treatment of patients with glycogen storage disease type Ia; DTX301, an AAV8 gene therapy for the treatment of patients with ornithine transcarbamylase; UX143, a human monoclonal antibody for the treatment of osteogenesis imperfecta; GTX-102, an antisense oligonucleotide for the treatment of Angelman syndrome; UX701, for the treatment of Wilson disease; and UX053 for the treatment of glycogen storage disease type III. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. has collaboration and license agreement with Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd.; Saint Louis University; Baylor Research Institute; REGENXBIO Inc.; Bayer Healthcare LLC; GeneTx; Mereo; University of Pennsylvania; Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc., Solid Biosciences Inc.; and Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Novato, California.

RARE (Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.61B, a beta of 0.39 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 18.29-42.37, average daily share volume of 2.0M, a public-listing history dating back to 2014, approximately 1K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how RARE stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.39 indicates RARE 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 RARE?

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 RARE snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $25.07, ATM IV 45.30%, IV rank 13.83%, expected move 12.99%. The butterfly on RARE 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 98-day expiry.

Why this butterfly structure on RARE specifically: RARE IV at 45.30% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a RARE butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 12.99% (roughly $3.26 on the underlying). The 98-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated RARE expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on RARE should anchor to the underlying notional of $25.07 per share and to the trader's directional view on RARE stock.

RARE butterfly setup

The RARE 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 RARE near $25.07, the first option leg uses a $25.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed RARE chain at a 98-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 RARE shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

ActionTypeStrike / BasisPremium (est)
Buy 1Call$25.00$5.10
Sell 2Call$25.00$5.10
Buy 1Call$27.50$4.20

RARE butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit
+$90.00
Max Profit (per contract)
$90.00
Max Loss (per contract)
-$160.00
Breakeven(s)
$25.90
Risk / Reward Ratio
0.562

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.

RARE butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on RARE. 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 SpotP&L at Expiration
$0.01-100.0%+$90.00
$5.55-77.9%+$90.00
$11.09-55.7%+$90.00
$16.64-33.6%+$90.00
$22.18-11.5%+$90.00
$27.72+10.6%-$160.00
$33.26+32.7%-$160.00
$38.80+54.8%-$160.00
$44.35+76.9%-$160.00
$49.89+99.0%-$160.00

When traders use butterfly on RARE

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

RARE thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for RARE extends from approximately $21.81 on the downside to $28.33 on the upside. A RARE long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if RARE settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current RARE IV rank near 13.83% 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 RARE at 45.30%. As a Healthcare name, RARE options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to RARE-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on RARE?
A butterfly on RARE is the butterfly strategy applied to RARE (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 RARE stock trading near $25.07, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed RARE chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are RARE 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 RARE butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 45.30%), the computed maximum profit is $90.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$160.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a RARE butterfly?
The breakeven for the RARE butterfly priced on this page is roughly $25.90 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 RARE market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 12.99%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on RARE?
Butterflies on RARE are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect RARE 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 RARE implied volatility affect this butterfly?
RARE ATM IV is at 45.30% with IV rank near 13.83%, 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.

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