RARE Straddle 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 straddle on RARE?

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 RARE snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $25.07, ATM IV 45.30%, IV rank 13.83%, expected move 12.99%. The straddle 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 straddle 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 straddle, 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 straddle setup

The RARE 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 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
Buy 1Put$25.00$4.93

RARE straddle risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit
-$1,002.50
Max Profit (per contract)
Unbounded
Max Loss (per contract)
-$997.40
Breakeven(s)
$14.98, $35.03
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.

RARE straddle payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle 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%+$1,496.50
$5.55-77.9%+$942.30
$11.09-55.7%+$388.10
$16.64-33.6%-$166.10
$22.18-11.5%-$720.30
$27.72+10.6%-$730.49
$33.26+32.7%-$176.29
$38.80+54.8%+$377.91
$44.35+76.9%+$932.11
$49.89+99.0%+$1,486.31

When traders use straddle on RARE

Straddles on RARE are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy RARE straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.

RARE thesis for this straddle

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 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 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 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. 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 straddle on RARE?
A straddle on RARE is the straddle strategy applied to RARE (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 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 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 RARE straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 45.30%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$997.40 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a RARE straddle?
The breakeven for the RARE straddle priced on this page is roughly $14.98 and $35.03 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 straddle on RARE?
Straddles on RARE are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy RARE 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 RARE implied volatility affect this straddle?
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.

Related RARE analysis