Investors use options to speculate (bet) on market price movements, protect portfolios from risk, and generate income. Each approach comes with its own risks, benefits, and typical users.
Options are contracts between two parties:
For example, if an option buyer has the right to purchase stock at $50, the option seller must sell the stock at $50 (if the buyer exercises their right).
Options don’t last forever. Each option has a defined expiration date. Most options expire within nine months after issuance*, but longer-term options exist. The option buyer has until expiration to exercise their right. If the option isn’t exercised by expiration, it expires and no longer exists. Standard options with expirations of up to nine months typically expire on the third Friday of the expiration month at 11:59pm ET**.
*Like most securities, options are issued to investors and then traded in the secondary market. Option issuance is unique compared with other securities; we’ll cover this concept later in this unit.
**Options primarily trade in Chicago on the CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange). Chicago is in the Central time zone, which is one hour behind Eastern. When you see test questions on expiration, watch for time zones.
While many options expire within nine months of issuance, there are exceptions:
Options are derivative securities, meaning their value is derived from price changes in an underlying asset. The underlying asset could be a stock, an index, a currency, or a commodity. When the market value of the underlying asset changes, the option’s value tends to change as well.
For example, an option that allows an investor to buy stock at $50 becomes more valuable as the stock’s market price rises. If the market price rises to $90, the option allows a purchase $40 below market value. The higher the market price rises, the more valuable that right becomes (and vice versa).
There are two primary types of options contracts:
Equity (stock) options derive their value from price fluctuations of a specific stock. For example, if you bought or sold an Apple Inc. (ticker: AAPL) option, you’d focus on Apple’s stock price. Depending on the option you use, you may profit if Apple’s stock price falls, stays flat, or rises. You can use an Apple option to speculate on its price, protect an Apple stock position, or generate additional income.
Index options derive their value from fluctuations in a specific index. For example, you could invest in an S&P 500 index option that may provide a return if the index falls, stays flat, or rises. Index options are often used to speculate on broad market movements, generate income, or protect an entire portfolio from market risk.
Options can feel like a new language at first, so it helps to get the vocabulary clear - especially the terms for buying and selling contracts.
“Long” is a term used throughout the securities industry. If an investor is long a security, they’ve purchased it and continue to hold it. With options, the idea is similar: when an investor goes long an option, they buy a contract that gives them a specific right. Investors who are long options are called holders. A holder has the right to buy or sell an asset at a particular price (depending on the contract).
The cost of an option is its premium. Option buyers pay a premium to purchase the option, and in return they receive the right described in the contract. In general, the more valuable the option, the higher its premium.
For example, if a stock’s market price is $70 and an options contract provides the right to buy the stock at $50, the premium will be at least $20 per share. Premiums are determined in the options markets and move based on supply and demand, similar to stock prices. More demand tends to push the premium higher (and vice versa).
Premiums can be expensive, so holders need the option to generate enough value to offset its cost. When you buy an option, you incur a debit (a cost) to go long.
A bad outcome for a holder is for the option to expire unused. If that happens, the holder’s loss equals the premium paid (this is the maximum potential loss for a holder).
Assume an investor purchases an option that provides the right to buy a stock at $50. If the stock’s market price falls to $40, the buyer won’t use the option. There’s no reason to exercise the option and buy at $50 when the stock can be bought in the market for $40. In this scenario, the option has no intrinsic value.
Intrinsic value is the profit the holder makes when an option is exercised. When exercising wouldn’t be profitable (as in the previous example), the option has no intrinsic value. Options with no intrinsic value are called “out of the money” (OTM).
In the previous example, the option was out of the money by $10. If an option is still out of the money on the expiration date, it expires worthless. At that point, the holder realizes their maximum potential loss: the premium paid for an option they didn’t use.
Now assume an investor purchases an option that gives the right to buy the stock at $50, and the stock price rises to $75. The holder can lock in a gain by exercising the option and buying at $50, then selling in the market at $75. When an option is in “exercise territory,” it has intrinsic value. In this example, the option has $25 of intrinsic value. An option with intrinsic value is called “in the money” (ITM).
In summary, option purchasers are long options and are called holders. Holders pay premiums (creating a debit) to gain the right to transact at a fixed price before expiration, and they hope the option goes in the money (gains intrinsic value) so exercising makes sense.
When investors sell an option, they go short. With options, the terms “sell” and “short” are often used interchangeably.
When an investor sells an option, they may take on significant risk. To deliver the rights given to the holder, the seller obligates themselves to do something they may not want to do. The reason sellers accept that obligation is that they receive a premium in return.
Why would someone take on an obligation like that? The answer is usually the same: money.
Option sellers receive a premium when they go short options, so they’re credited at the time of sale. That immediate benefit may or may not be worth the risk that follows. In the best-case scenario, the option expires worthless and the seller’s obligation disappears.
Option sellers are also called writers. The idea is that the seller is “writing” a contract and selling it to another investor. If the option holder has the right to buy stock at a fixed price, the writer is obligated to sell stock at that price. If the option holder has the right to sell stock at a fixed price, the writer is obligated to buy stock at that price.
Writers want the options they sell to expire worthless and avoid gaining intrinsic value. Remember: intrinsic value is the profit the holder would make by exercising. The holder’s profit becomes the writer’s loss. So, the more intrinsic value the contract has, the more the writer loses. That’s why writers generally want their options to stay out of the money (OTM) (with no intrinsic value). Let’s walk through a couple of examples.
An investor sells an option that gives the holder the right to buy stock at $50. That means the investor (the option seller/writer) is obligated to sell the stock at $50, but only if the holder exercises.
If the market price falls to $45 per share, the holder won’t exercise. There’s no reason to buy at $50 when the market price is $45. If the market price stays there through expiration, the writer isn’t forced to do anything. The writer earns their maximum gain: the premium received when the option was sold. The option had no intrinsic value and was out of the money at expiration - exactly what the writer wanted.
Conversely, suppose the stock rises to $70 per share. Now the holder will exercise the right to buy at $50. The contract has $20 of intrinsic value and is in the money.
When a writer’s option is exercised, the writer is assigned and must perform the obligation. In this example, the writer must sell the stock at $50. If the writer doesn’t already own the stock, they must buy it in the market at $70 and then sell it to the holder at $50. That locks in a $20 per share loss. The writer still keeps the premium, but the premium may not offset the loss created by assignment. This is why option sellers generally prefer their contracts to go unexercised.
In summary, option sellers are short options and are called writers. Writers receive premiums (creating a credit) in exchange for obligating themselves to transact at a fixed price. They hope their options remain out of the money (without intrinsic value) and expire worthless.
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