UDR Butterfly Strategy
UDR (UDR, Inc.), in the Real Estate sector, (REIT - Residential industry), listed on NYSE.
UDR, Inc. (NYSE: UDR), an S&P 500 company, is a leading multifamily real estate investment trust with a demonstrated performance history of delivering superior and dependable returns by successfully managing, buying, selling, developing and redeveloping attractive real estate communities in targeted U.S. markets. As of September 30, 2020, UDR owned or had an ownership position in 51,649 apartment homes including 1,031 homes under development. For over 48 years, UDR has delivered long-term value to shareholders, the best standard of service to Residents and the highest quality experience for Associates.
UDR (UDR, Inc.) trades in the Real Estate sector, specifically REIT - Residential, with a market capitalization of approximately $12.20B, a trailing P/E of 25.05, a beta of 0.72 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 32.94-42.45, average daily share volume of 3.5M, a public-listing history dating back to 1980, approximately 1K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how UDR stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.72 places UDR roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. UDR pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on UDR?
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 UDR snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $36.91, ATM IV 29.80%, IV rank 9.88%, expected move 8.54%. The butterfly on UDR 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 butterfly structure on UDR specifically: UDR IV at 29.80% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a UDR butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 8.54% (roughly $3.15 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 UDR expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on UDR should anchor to the underlying notional of $36.91 per share and to the trader's directional view on UDR stock.
UDR butterfly setup
The UDR 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 UDR near $36.91, the first option leg uses a $35.06 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed UDR 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 UDR shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $35.06 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $36.91 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $38.76 | N/A |
UDR butterfly 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
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.
UDR butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on UDR. 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 butterfly on UDR
Butterflies on UDR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect UDR 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.
UDR thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for UDR extends from approximately $33.76 on the downside to $40.06 on the upside. A UDR long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if UDR settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current UDR IV rank near 9.88% 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 UDR at 29.80%. As a Real Estate name, UDR options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to UDR-specific events.
UDR 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. UDR positions also carry Real Estate sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move UDR alongside the broader basket even when UDR-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current UDR chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on UDR?
- A butterfly on UDR is the butterfly strategy applied to UDR (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 UDR stock trading near $36.91, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed UDR chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are UDR 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 UDR butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 29.80%), 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 UDR butterfly?
- The breakeven for the UDR butterfly 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 UDR market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 8.54%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on UDR?
- Butterflies on UDR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect UDR 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 UDR implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- UDR ATM IV is at 29.80% with IV rank near 9.88%, 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.