SXC Straddle Strategy

SXC (SunCoke Energy, Inc.), in the Energy sector, (Coal industry), listed on NYSE.

SunCoke Energy, Inc. operates as an independent producer of coke in the Americas and Brazil. The company operates through three segments: Domestic Coke, Brazil Coke, and Logistics. It offers metallurgical and thermal coal. The company also provides handling and/or mixing services to steel, coke, electric utility, coal producing, and other manufacturing based customers. In addition, it owns and operates five cokemaking facilities in the United States and one cokemaking facility in Brazil. SunCoke Energy, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Lisle, Illinois.

SXC (SunCoke Energy, Inc.) trades in the Energy sector, specifically Coal, with a market capitalization of approximately $660.2M, a beta of 0.85 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 5.52-8.99, average daily share volume of 1.9M, a public-listing history dating back to 2011, approximately 1K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how SXC stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.85 places SXC roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. SXC pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a straddle on SXC?

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 SXC snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $7.66, ATM IV 49.60%, IV rank 17.28%, expected move 14.22%. The straddle on SXC 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 straddle structure on SXC specifically: SXC IV at 49.60% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a SXC straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 14.22% (roughly $1.09 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 SXC expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on SXC should anchor to the underlying notional of $7.66 per share and to the trader's directional view on SXC stock.

SXC straddle setup

The SXC 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 SXC near $7.66, the first option leg uses a $7.66 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed SXC 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 SXC shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

ActionTypeStrike / BasisPremium (est)
Buy 1Call$7.66N/A
Buy 1Put$7.66N/A

SXC straddle risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit
N/A
Max Profit (per contract)
Unbounded
Max Loss (per contract)
Unbounded
Breakeven(s)
None on modeled curve
Risk / Reward Ratio
N/A

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.

SXC straddle payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on SXC. 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.

When traders use straddle on SXC

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

SXC thesis for this straddle

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for SXC extends from approximately $6.57 on the downside to $8.75 on the upside. A SXC 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 SXC IV rank near 17.28% 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 SXC at 49.60%. As a Energy name, SXC options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to SXC-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a straddle on SXC?
A straddle on SXC is the straddle strategy applied to SXC (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 SXC stock trading near $7.66, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed SXC chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are SXC 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 SXC straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 49.60%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is unbounded per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a SXC straddle?
The breakeven for the SXC straddle priced on this page is no defined breakeven on the modeled curve 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 SXC market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 14.22%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a straddle on SXC?
Straddles on SXC are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy SXC 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 SXC implied volatility affect this straddle?
SXC ATM IV is at 49.60% with IV rank near 17.28%, 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.

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