- A call option is one of the two fundamental types of options. The
- holder of a call option has the option, but not the obligation, to
- purchase 100 shares of the underlying stock at the strike price in
- the future.
-
-
- It is useful to understand some basic terminology regarding the strike
- of a call option:
-
-
- In-The-Money (ITM): The
- stock price is greater than the strike
- price.
-
-
- At-The-Money (ATM): The
- stock price is equal to the strike
- price.
-
-
- Out-of-the-money (OTM): The
- stock price is less than the strike
- price.
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-
-
-
-
-
- OTM options expire worthless, whereas ITM options hold value at
- expiration. However, simply being ITM doesn't guarantee profit.
- You need to consider the price you paid for the option. For
- instance, if you paid $5 per contract and the option is in the
- money by $2, you'd incur a $3 loss.
-
-
- Profiting from the option at expiration requires it to be ITM by more
- than the amount you paid for it; simple as that.
-
-
-
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- What's the Goal
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-
-
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- To break even at expiration, the underlying stock price must be
- higher than the strike price plus the premium you paid for the
- option.
-
-
- For example, if you paid $5.00 for a 100 call and the stock is now
- worth $103, you will still lose money ($2 x 100 = $200) because you
- must cover the cost of the option.
-
-
- Because of this, you really want the stock to go well above your strike
- price (depending on how much you paid for the option). Otherwise you
- will constantly be worrying if the stock is going to make it, which
- often leads to panic selling.
-
-
- As a result, you want the stock to rise significantly above your strike
- price (depending on the amount you paid for the option). Otherwise,
- you'll be constantly worried about whether the stock will make it,
- which can lead to panic selling.
-
-
-
-
- Effect of Time
-
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-
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- A call option will lose value as time passes due to theta decay.
- The rate of this accelerates as expiration approaches, with the
- majority of the decay happening in the final days or weeks of the
- option's lifetime.
-
-
- Time decay occurs because as time passes, the chance of the stock making
- a large move decreases. An OTM contract can have plenty of value months
- before expiration, but as the final days approach, it will rapidly
- lose value if it is still out of the money. Simply put, when there
- is less time remaining, there is less of a chance that the stock will
- be able to move in time, making the price that others are willing to
- pay for the option less.
-
-
- Time decay can be "fought" by other factors. The most obvious of course,
- is the price of the underlying stock. If the stock moves upwards enough,
- it can increase the value of the call more than the time decay is taking
- away from the call. Another factor is implied volatility, which can
- offset the decay if it increases enough.
-
-
- Absent of these factors, a call will lose value as expiration approaches.
- The final price of a call will depend on how far ITM it is. All OTM
- calls, which previously were worth something due to the time value,
- will be worthless at expiration.
-
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-
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- Effect of Volatility
-
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-
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- Volatility is a large unknown when trading options. Like the price
- of the stock itself, it is one thing that we cannot easily
- predict. Options will increase in value as implied volatility
- increases, and decrease when IV decreases. In fact, implied
- volatility is actually calculated from the price of the option
- itself compared to the "fair value" price of the option. When
- other traders are willing to pay more for an option, it increases
- that gap, which IV represents.
-
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- Why would an investor pay more for an option than the theoretical fair
- value? There are many reasons, all of which involve real world events
- that factor into their decision. The most common reason is that an
- earnings announcement is upcoming.
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- Typically, a stock moves either up or down a fair bit when earnings
- are announced, as the company either beats or doesn't meet earning
- expectations. You might think this would be the perfect time to buy
- a call, as there is a chance the stock makes a big move in the coming
- days. Of course, everyone else in the market also thinks this and wants
- to get in on the action. Demand from lots of buyers of an option will
- cause the price of the option to go up. (Just like how lots of demand
- from home buyers or concert-goers allows for sellers to charge more)
- It goes the other way too, as option sellers know their worth and aren't
- going to sell an option that could double in the coming days for cheap.
-
-
- Since there's expectation of a price raise, and therefore higher implied
- volatility, options are going for more than they usually would. However,
- after the announcement, implied volatility (and the price of the option)
- rapidly collapse to typical levels. So even if the price raises a lot
- as a result of the earnings, the call option might be worth less just
- because the IV is now lower (no more expectations that the price could
- raise further).
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- Pros of Long Call Options
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- Buying a call is much cheaper than buying 100 shares of the
- underlying stock, giving you lots of leverage for relatively
- little capital.
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- Like owning shares, a long call has no profit cap.
-
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- You can never lose more than 100% of your investment. (This
- may sound like a con, but it is a benefit over other option
- strategies that have uncapped loss potential).
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- Cons of Long Call Options
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- If the stock doesn't reach your breakeven point, you will lose
- your entire investment. If you owned shares instead, you may
- only be down a small amount, as the chance of a stock going to
- zero is slim. (But don't forget about Lehman Brothers)
-
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- Being highly leveraged means that even a small downwards move
- can send the call plummeting, leaving you with a tough
- decision to cut your losses or hold out for longer.
-
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- Simple Example
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-
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- When dealing with long call options, it's crucial to understand
- their value and how they work. At expiration, the value of a call
- option can be determined using a simple formula, also known as the
- intrinsic value:
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-
-
-
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- This formula reflects that if the stock price exceeds the strike price,
- the option is profitable and worth exercising. For instance, if the
- strike price is $100 and the stock is trading at $105, the option can
- be exercised to buy shares at $100, resulting in a profit of $5 per
- share when sold at the market price.
-
-
- The value of a call option prior to expiry consists of both intrinsic
- value and extrinsic value, commonly referred to as time value. Calculating
- the extrinsic value manually can be complex, often necessitating the
- use of option pricing models.
-
-
-
- To find the breakeven, simply add the price you paid for the contract(s)
- to the strike price:
-
-
-
-
- This indicator measures the daily aggregated premium and volume of
- option trades. It calculates the difference between the value of
- options transacted at or near the ask
- price and those transacted at or near the
- bid price.
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-
-
-
- Example: If $15,000 in calls are transacted at the ask
- price and $10,000 at the
- bid
- price, the aggregated call
- premium is:
-
-
$15,000 - $10,000 = $5,000
-
-
-
-
- Example: If $10,000 in puts are transacted at the ask
- price and $20,000 at the
- bid
- price, the aggregated put
- premium is:
-
-
$10,000 - $20,000 = -$10,000
-
-
-
- More calls bought at the ask
- suggest bullish sentiment, while more puts bought at the
- ask suggest bearish sentiment.
- If both lines are close, the sentiment is neutral. Diverging trends
- indicate increasing bullish or bearish sentiment.
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-
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- Indicators of Bearish Sentiment
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- Aggregated call premium decreases rapidly.
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- Aggregated put premium increases rapidly.
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- Volume is calculated as the difference between aggregated call and
- put volumes. This method uses the same principles as premium
- calculations.
-
-
-
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- Example: If 10,000 more calls and 5,000 more puts are transacted
- at the ask compared
- to the bid, the
- aggregated volume is:
-
-
10,000 - 5,000 = 5,000
-
- Since not all options are priced equally, premium must be
- considered alongside volume for a clearer picture.
-