Options Strategy - Short Straddle

The short straddle - a.k.a. sell straddle or naked straddle sale - is a neutral options strategy that involve the simultaneous selling of a put and a call of the same underlying stock, striking price and expiration date.

Short Straddle Construction
Sell 1 ATM Call
Sell 1 ATM Put

Short straddles are limited profit, unlimited risk options trading strategies that are used when the options trader thinks that the underlying securities will experience little volatility in the near term.




Limited Profit Maximum profit for the short straddle is achieved when the underlying stock price on expiration date is trading at the strike price of the options sold. At this price, both options expire worthless and the options trader gets to keep the entire initial credit taken as profit.

The formula for calculating maximum profit is given below:

Max Profit = Net Premium Received - Commissions Paid
Max Profit Achieved When Price of Underlying = Strike Price of Short Call/Put

Unlimited Risk Large losses for the short straddle can be incurred when the underlying stock price makes a strong move either upwards or downwards at expiration, causing the short call or the short put to expire deep in the money.

The formula for calculating loss is given below:

Maximum Loss = Unlimited
Loss Occurs When,
Price of Underlying > Strike Price of Short Call + Net Premium Received OR
Price of Underlying < Strike Price of Short Put - Net Premium Received Loss = Price of Underlying - Strike Price of Short Call - Net Premium Received OR
Strike Price of Short Put - Price of Underlying - Net Premium Received + Commissions Paid Breakeven Point(s)

There are 2 break-even points for the short straddle.

The breakeven points can be calculated using the following formulae.

Upper Breakeven Point = Strike Price of Short Call + Net Premium Received
Lower Breakeven Point = Strike Price of Short Put - Net Premium Received