VSTM Straddle Strategy
VSTM (Verastem, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Verastem, Inc., a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focusing on developing and commercializing drugs for the treatment of cancer. Its product in development includes VS-6766, a dual rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma (RAF)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK) clamp that blocks MEK kinase activity and the ability of RAF to phosphorylate MEK. The company also engages in developing RAMP 201, an adaptive two-part multicenter, parallel cohort, randomized open label trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of VS-6766 and in combination with defactinib, an oral small molecule inhibitor of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in patients with recurrent low grade serous ovarian cancer; and RAMP 202, which is in Phase 2 trial to evaluate the safety of VS-6766 in combination with defactinib in patients with KRAS and BRAF mutant non-small cell lung cancer following treatment with a platinum-based regimen and immune checkpoint inhibitor. Verastem, Inc. has license agreements with Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for the development, commercialization, and manufacture of products containing VS-6766; and Pfizer Inc. to research, develop, manufacture, and commercialize products containing Pfizer's inhibitors of FAK for therapeutic, diagnostic and prophylactic uses in humans. In addition, it has clinical collaboration agreement with Amgen, Inc. to evaluate the combination of VS-6766 with Amgen's KRAS-G12C inhibitor LUMAKRASTM which in Phase 1/2 trial entitled RAMP 203. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts.
VSTM (Verastem, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $327.2M, a beta of 0.34 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 4.01-11.25, average daily share volume of 2.1M, a public-listing history dating back to 2012, approximately 78 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how VSTM stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.34 indicates VSTM has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure.
What is a straddle on VSTM?
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 VSTM snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $4.37, ATM IV 106.30%, IV rank 27.08%, expected move 30.48%. The straddle on VSTM 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 VSTM specifically: VSTM IV at 106.30% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a VSTM straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 30.48% (roughly $1.33 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 VSTM expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on VSTM should anchor to the underlying notional of $4.37 per share and to the trader's directional view on VSTM stock.
VSTM straddle setup
The VSTM 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 VSTM near $4.37, the first option leg uses a $4.37 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed VSTM 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 VSTM shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $4.37 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Put | $4.37 | N/A |
VSTM 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.
VSTM straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on VSTM. 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 VSTM
Straddles on VSTM are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy VSTM straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
VSTM thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for VSTM extends from approximately $3.04 on the downside to $5.70 on the upside. A VSTM 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 VSTM IV rank near 27.08% 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 VSTM at 106.30%. As a Healthcare name, VSTM options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to VSTM-specific events.
VSTM 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. VSTM positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move VSTM alongside the broader basket even when VSTM-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current VSTM chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on VSTM?
- A straddle on VSTM is the straddle strategy applied to VSTM (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 VSTM stock trading near $4.37, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed VSTM chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are VSTM 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 VSTM straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 106.30%), 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 VSTM straddle?
- The breakeven for the VSTM 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 VSTM market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 30.48%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on VSTM?
- Straddles on VSTM are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy VSTM 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 VSTM implied volatility affect this straddle?
- VSTM ATM IV is at 106.30% with IV rank near 27.08%, 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.