VRDN Straddle Strategy
VRDN (Viridian Therapeutics, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology firm committed to creating therapies for patients afflicted by serious illnesses. Its primary development efforts include VRDN-001, a humanized monoclonal anti-IGF-1R antibody currently advancing through Phase 1/2 clinical trials for thyroid eye disease (TED). The company's portfolio also features VRDN-002, an IGF-1R antibody undergoing Phase 1 clinical evaluation, alongside VRDN-003, a therapeutic antibody also designed to target IGF-1R for TED. Established in 2006, this Waltham, Massachusetts-based firm previously operated as Miragen Therapeutics, Inc., before changing its name to Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. in January 2021.
VRDN (Viridian Therapeutics, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.59B, a beta of 0.94 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 13.18-34.29, average daily share volume of 2.5M, a public-listing history dating back to 2014, approximately 252 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how VRDN stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.94 places VRDN roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline.
What is a straddle on VRDN?
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.
VRDN snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $22.14, ATM IV 76.60%, IV rank 16.31%, expected move 21.96%. The straddle on VRDN below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 35-day expiry.
Why this straddle structure on VRDN specifically: VRDN IV at 76.60% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a VRDN straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 21.96% (roughly $4.86 on the underlying). The 35-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated VRDN expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on VRDN should anchor to the underlying notional of $22.14 per share and to the trader's directional view on VRDN stock.
VRDN straddle setup
The VRDN straddle below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With VRDN at $22.14 on that close, the first option leg uses a $22.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed VRDN chain at a 35-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 VRDN shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $22.00 | $2.10 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $22.00 | $1.78 |
VRDN straddle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$387.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$384.12
- Breakeven(s)
- $18.13, $25.88
- 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.
VRDN straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on VRDN. 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 Spot | P&L at Expiration |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01 | -100.0% | +$1,811.50 |
| $4.90 | -77.8% | +$1,322.08 |
| $9.80 | -55.7% | +$832.67 |
| $14.69 | -33.6% | +$343.25 |
| $19.59 | -11.5% | -$146.17 |
| $24.48 | +10.6% | -$139.41 |
| $29.38 | +32.7% | +$350.00 |
| $34.27 | +54.8% | +$839.42 |
| $39.16 | +76.9% | +$1,328.84 |
| $44.06 | +99.0% | +$1,818.25 |
When traders use straddle on VRDN
Straddles on VRDN are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy VRDN straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
VRDN thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for VRDN extends from approximately $17.28 on the downside to $27.00 on the upside. A VRDN 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 VRDN IV rank near 16.31% 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 VRDN at 76.60%. As a Healthcare name, VRDN options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to VRDN-specific events.
VRDN 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. VRDN positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move VRDN alongside the broader basket even when VRDN-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current VRDN chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on VRDN?
- A straddle on VRDN is the straddle strategy applied to VRDN (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 VRDN stock at $22.14 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed VRDN chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are VRDN 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 VRDN straddle priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 76.60%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$384.12 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a VRDN straddle?
- The breakeven for the VRDN straddle priced on this page is roughly $18.13 and $25.88 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain's premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The VRDN market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 21.96%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on VRDN?
- Straddles on VRDN are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy VRDN 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 VRDN implied volatility affect this straddle?
- VRDN ATM IV is at 76.60% with IV rank near 16.31%, 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.