ZVRA Straddle Strategy
ZVRA (Zevra Therapeutics, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Biotechnology industry), listed on NASDAQ.
Zevra Therapeutics, Inc., founded in 2006 and based in Celebration, Florida, is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing innovative treatments for rare diseases. The company employs its proprietary Ligand Activated Therapy (LAT) technology to create novel prodrug versions of existing FDA-approved medications or to enable new applications for other compounds, primarily addressing serious medical conditions within the United States. Zevra's development pipeline is strategically concentrated on high-unmet-need therapeutic areas, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), stimulant use disorder, and various rare central nervous system (CNS) conditions, such as idiopathic hypersomnia (IH). Their lead product candidate, KP1077, which is a prodrug of d-methylphenidate (known as serdexmethylphenidate), is currently in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of both IH and narcolepsy. Another key prodrug candidate, KP879, is also advancing through Phase II studies for stimulant use disorder. In addition to its pipeline, Zevra has successfully secured FDA approval for two products: AZSTARYS, a once-daily treatment for ADHD in patients aged six years and older, and 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 $799.2M, a trailing P/E of 6.36, a beta of 0.89 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 7.16-14.27, average daily share volume of 1.5M, 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 0.89 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 6.36 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 straddle on ZVRA?
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 ZVRA snapshot
As of June 30, 2026, spot at $14.19, ATM IV 48.00%, IV rank 11.65%, expected move 13.76%. The straddle 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 17-day expiry.
Why this straddle structure on ZVRA specifically: ZVRA IV at 48.00% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a ZVRA straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 13.76% (roughly $1.95 on the underlying). The 17-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 $14.19 per share and to the trader's directional view on ZVRA stock.
ZVRA straddle setup
The ZVRA 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 ZVRA near $14.19, the first option leg uses a $14.00 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 17-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).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $14.00 | $0.70 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $14.00 | $0.45 |
ZVRA straddle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$115.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$113.12
- Breakeven(s)
- $12.85, $15.15
- 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.
ZVRA straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle 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 Spot | P&L at Expiration |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01 | -99.9% | +$1,284.00 |
| $3.15 | -77.8% | +$970.36 |
| $6.28 | -55.7% | +$656.72 |
| $9.42 | -33.6% | +$343.09 |
| $12.56 | -11.5% | +$29.45 |
| $15.69 | +10.6% | +$54.19 |
| $18.83 | +32.7% | +$367.83 |
| $21.96 | +54.8% | +$681.47 |
| $25.10 | +76.9% | +$995.11 |
| $28.24 | +99.0% | +$1,308.74 |
When traders use straddle on ZVRA
Straddles on ZVRA are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy ZVRA straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
ZVRA thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ZVRA extends from approximately $12.24 on the downside to $16.14 on the upside. A ZVRA 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 ZVRA IV rank near 11.65% 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 48.00%. 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 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. 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. Always rebuild the position from current ZVRA chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on ZVRA?
- A straddle on ZVRA is the straddle strategy applied to ZVRA (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 ZVRA stock trading near $14.19, 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 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 ZVRA straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 48.00%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$113.12 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a ZVRA straddle?
- The breakeven for the ZVRA straddle priced on this page is roughly $12.85 and $15.15 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 13.76%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on ZVRA?
- Straddles on ZVRA are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy ZVRA 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 ZVRA implied volatility affect this straddle?
- ZVRA ATM IV is at 48.00% with IV rank near 11.65%, 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.