VIR Straddle Strategy

VIR (Vir Biotechnology, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.

Vir Biotechnology, Inc., a commercial-stage immunology company, develops therapeutic products to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. It develops Sotrovimab (VIR-7832), a SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing mAbs to treat and prevent COVID-19 infection under the Xevudy brand; VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 for the treatment of hepatitis B virus; VIR-2482 for the prevention of influenza A virus; and VIR-1111 for the prevention of human immunodeficiency virus. The company has grant agreements with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and National Institutes of Health; an option and license agreement with Brii Biosciences Limited and Brii Biosciences Offshore Limited; a collaboration and license agreement with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; license agreements with The Rockefeller University and MedImmune, Inc.; collaboration with WuXi Biologics and Glaxo Wellcome UK Ltd.; and a collaborative research agreement with GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA. It also has a manufacturing agreement with Samsung Biologics Co.,Ltd. for the manufacture of SARS-COV-2 antibodies; and clinical collaboration with Gilead Sciences, Inc. for chronic hepatitis B virus. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

VIR (Vir Biotechnology, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.57B, a beta of 1.70 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 4.155-11.66, average daily share volume of 3.6M, a public-listing history dating back to 2019, approximately 408 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how VIR stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 1.70 indicates VIR has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position.

What is a straddle on VIR?

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 VIR snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $8.77, ATM IV 62.20%, IV rank 8.95%, expected move 17.83%. The straddle on VIR 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 63-day expiry.

Why this straddle structure on VIR specifically: VIR IV at 62.20% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a VIR straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 17.83% (roughly $1.56 on the underlying). The 63-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated VIR expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on VIR should anchor to the underlying notional of $8.77 per share and to the trader's directional view on VIR stock.

VIR straddle setup

The VIR 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 VIR near $8.77, the first option leg uses a $9.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed VIR chain at a 63-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 VIR shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

ActionTypeStrike / BasisPremium (est)
Buy 1Call$9.00$0.85
Buy 1Put$9.00$1.38

VIR straddle risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit
-$222.50
Max Profit (per contract)
Unbounded
Max Loss (per contract)
-$222.02
Breakeven(s)
$6.78, $11.23
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.

VIR straddle payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on VIR. 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
$0.01-99.9%+$676.50
$1.95-77.8%+$482.70
$3.89-55.7%+$288.90
$5.82-33.6%+$95.10
$7.76-11.5%-$98.70
$9.70+10.6%-$152.51
$11.64+32.7%+$41.29
$13.58+54.8%+$235.09
$15.51+76.9%+$428.89
$17.45+99.0%+$622.69

When traders use straddle on VIR

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

VIR thesis for this straddle

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for VIR extends from approximately $7.21 on the downside to $10.33 on the upside. A VIR 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 VIR IV rank near 8.95% 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 VIR at 62.20%. As a Healthcare name, VIR options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to VIR-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a straddle on VIR?
A straddle on VIR is the straddle strategy applied to VIR (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 VIR stock trading near $8.77, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed VIR chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are VIR 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 VIR straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 62.20%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$222.02 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a VIR straddle?
The breakeven for the VIR straddle priced on this page is roughly $6.78 and $11.23 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 VIR market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 17.83%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a straddle on VIR?
Straddles on VIR are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy VIR 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 VIR implied volatility affect this straddle?
VIR ATM IV is at 62.20% with IV rank near 8.95%, 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 VIR analysis