ZVRA Long Call Strategy

ZVRA (Zevra Therapeutics, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc., a rare disease company melding science, discovers and develops various proprietary prodrugs to treat serious medical conditions in the United States. The company utilizes its Ligand Activated Therapy technology to generate improved prodrug versions of FDA-approved drugs, as well as to generate prodrug versions of existing compounds that may have applications for new disease indications. Its prodrug product candidate pipeline is focused on the high need areas of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, stimulant use disorder, and CNS rare diseases, including idiopathic hypersomnia (IH). The company's lead product candidate KP1077, which is under Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of IH and narcolepsy, is based on its prodrug of d-methylphenidate, known as serdexmethylphenidate. It is also developing KP879, a prodrug product candidate for the treatment of stimulant use disorder and is under Phase II clinical trial. In addition, the company has received FDA approval for AZSTARYS, a once-daily treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in patents age six years and older, and for APADAZ, an immediate-release combination product containing benzhydrocodone, a prodrug of hydrocodone, and acetaminophen.

ZVRA (Zevra Therapeutics, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Biotechnology, with a market capitalization of approximately $657.4M, a trailing P/E of 5.23, a beta of 0.88 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 7.16-13.16, average daily share volume of 1.1M, a public-listing history dating back to 2015, approximately 59 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how ZVRA stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.88 places ZVRA roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. The trailing P/E of 5.23 is on the value side, where IV often compresses outside event windows because forward growth expectations are already discounted into the share price.

What is a long call on ZVRA?

A long call buys upside exposure with a fixed maximum loss equal to the premium paid; profit accrues if the underlying closes above the strike plus premium at expiration.

Current ZVRA snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $11.07, ATM IV 61.10%, IV rank 14.91%, expected move 17.52%. The long call on ZVRA 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 98-day expiry.

Why this long call structure on ZVRA specifically: ZVRA IV at 61.10% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a ZVRA long call, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 17.52% (roughly $1.94 on the underlying). The 98-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated ZVRA expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on ZVRA should anchor to the underlying notional of $11.07 per share and to the trader's directional view on ZVRA stock.

ZVRA long call setup

The ZVRA long call below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With ZVRA near $11.07, the first option leg uses a $11.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed ZVRA chain at a 98-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 ZVRA shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

ActionTypeStrike / BasisPremium (est)
Buy 1Call$11.00$2.43

ZVRA long call risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit
-$242.50
Max Profit (per contract)
Unbounded
Max Loss (per contract)
-$242.50
Breakeven(s)
$13.42
Risk / Reward Ratio
Unbounded

Max profit is unbounded; max loss equals the premium paid times 100. Breakeven is strike plus premium.

ZVRA long call payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the long call on ZVRA. 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%-$242.50
$2.46-77.8%-$242.50
$4.90-55.7%-$242.50
$7.35-33.6%-$242.50
$9.80-11.5%-$242.50
$12.24+10.6%-$118.23
$14.69+32.7%+$126.42
$17.14+54.8%+$371.07
$19.58+76.9%+$615.73
$22.03+99.0%+$860.38

When traders use long call on ZVRA

Long calls on ZVRA express a bullish thesis with defined risk; traders use them ahead of ZVRA catalysts (earnings, product launches, macro events) when the expected upside justifies the premium and theta decay.

ZVRA thesis for this long call

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ZVRA extends from approximately $9.13 on the downside to $13.01 on the upside. A ZVRA long call expresses a directional view that the underlying closes above the strike plus premium at expiration, ideally with implied volatility holding or expanding to preserve extrinsic value through the hold period. Current ZVRA IV rank near 14.91% 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 ZVRA at 61.10%. As a Healthcare name, ZVRA options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to ZVRA-specific events.

ZVRA long call positions are structurally bullish; 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. ZVRA positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move ZVRA alongside the broader basket even when ZVRA-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Long-premium structures like a long call on ZVRA are particularly exposed to IV-crush risk through scheduled events (earnings, FDA decisions, central-bank meetings) where IV typically contracts post-event regardless of the directional outcome. Always rebuild the position from current ZVRA chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a long call on ZVRA?
A long call on ZVRA is the long call strategy applied to ZVRA (stock). The strategy is structurally bullish: A long call buys upside exposure with a fixed maximum loss equal to the premium paid; profit accrues if the underlying closes above the strike plus premium at expiration. With ZVRA stock trading near $11.07, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed ZVRA chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are ZVRA long call max profit and max loss calculated?
Max profit is unbounded; max loss equals the premium paid times 100. Breakeven is strike plus premium. For the ZVRA long call priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 61.10%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$242.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a ZVRA long call?
The breakeven for the ZVRA long call priced on this page is roughly $13.42 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 ZVRA market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 17.52%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a long call on ZVRA?
Long calls on ZVRA express a bullish thesis with defined risk; traders use them ahead of ZVRA catalysts (earnings, product launches, macro events) when the expected upside justifies the premium and theta decay.
How does current ZVRA implied volatility affect this long call?
ZVRA ATM IV is at 61.10% with IV rank near 14.91%, 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 ZVRA analysis