Research Frontiers Incorporated (REFR) Volatility Skew
Implied volatility skew shows how IV varies across strike prices for a given expiration. Steeper skews indicate higher demand for downside protection relative to upside speculation.
Research Frontiers Incorporated (REFR) operates in the Technology sector, specifically the Hardware, Equipment & Parts industry, with a market capitalization near $27.5M, listed on NASDAQ, employing roughly 6 people, carrying a beta of 0.54 to the broader market. Research Frontiers Incorporated develops and markets technology and devices to control the flow of light worldwide. Led by Joseph Harary, public since 1986-07-08.
Snapshot as of May 15, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $0.81
- ATM IV
- 26.7%
- IV Rank
- 2.1%
- IV Percentile
- 11.1%
- Term Structure Slope
- 0.140
As of May 15, 2026, Research Frontiers Incorporated (REFR) at-the-money implied volatility is 26.7%. IV rank is 2.1% (where 0% is the 52-week low and 100% is the 52-week high). IV percentile is 11.1%. High IV rank typically favors premium-selling strategies; low IV rank favors premium-buying.
REFR Strategy Selection at Current Volatility Levels
For Research Frontiers Incorporated options at 26.7% ATM IV, low IV rank (2.1%) favors premium-buying or long-vol structures: long calls or puts, debit spreads, calendar spreads, long straddles. The risk: low-rank regimes can persist for months while time decay eats premium-buyers alive. Pair the vol-rank read with the dealer-gamma view and the upcoming-events calendar to confirm the strategy fits both the structural regime and the path-dependent risk. The variance risk premium - the persistent gap between implied and subsequently realized vol - is positive in equity markets on average; high IV rank typically reflects a stretch where the premium is wider than usual.
Learn how volatility skew is reported and how to read the data →
Frequently asked REFR volatility skew questions
- What is the current REFR ATM implied volatility?
- As of May 15, 2026, Research Frontiers Incorporated (REFR) at-the-money implied volatility is 26.7%. IV rank is 2.1% on a 0-100% scale anchored to the 1-year IV range. ATM IV is the volatility input that makes a Black-Scholes-equivalent model reproduce the listed at-the-money option prices.
- Is REFR IV high or low historically?
- IV is subdued relative to its 1-year history, conditions that typically favor premium-buying strategies (long calls, long puts, debit spreads, calendar spreads).
- What does REFR volatility skew tell options traders?
- Volatility skew is the pattern by which IV varies across strikes for a given expiration. Skew matters for risk-defined strategy selection: when downside puts are rich, put-credit spreads capture more premium; when upside calls are rich, call-credit spreads or covered-call writes harvest more.