chapter 14 Flashcards
define financial option
a contract that gives its owner the right (but not the obligation) to purchase or sell an asset at a fixed price at some future date
define call option
a financial option that give sits owner the right to buy an asset
define put opinion
gives the owner the right to sell the asset
define option writer
the seller of an option contract
define what it means to exercise an option
when a holder of an option enforces the agreement and buys or sells a share of stock at the agreed upon price
define strike price
the price at which the holder buys or sells the share of stock when the option is exercised is
define american options
most common kind, allow their holders to exercise the option on any date up to and including a final date (expiration date)
define option expiration date
the last date on which an option holder has the right to exercise the option
define european option
allows their holders to exercise the option only on the expiration date - holders cannot exercise before the expiration date
what’s an option contract
An option contract is a contract between two parties. The option buyer, also called the option holder, holds the right to exercise the option and has a long position in the contract. The option seller, also called the option writer, sells (or writes) the option and has a short position in the contract. Because the long side has the option to exercise, the short side has an obligation to fulfill the contract.
when is an option exercised
only when investors make a positive payogg
define option premium
the market price of the option - the upfront payment
why is there an option premium
to compensate the seller for the risk of a negative payoff in the event that the option holder chooses to exercise the option.
how to read an option
The first two digits in the option name refer to the year of expiration. The option name also includes the month of expiration, the strike or exercise price, and the ticker symbol of the individual option (in parentheses).
define open interest
the total number of contracts of a particular option that has been written
define an option that’s at the money
describes options whose exercise prices are equal to the current stock price
why is it that much of the trading occurs in the options that are closest to being at the money
bc of not much time that EV will add value
define an option that’s in the money
describes an option whose value if immediately exercised would be positive
Call options with strike prices below the current stock price are in-the-money, as are put options with strike prices above the current stock price.
define an option that’s out of the money
describes an option that if exercised immediately, results in a loss of money
Call options with strike prices above the current stock price are out-of-the-money, as are put options with strike prices below the current stock price. Of course, a holder would not exercise an out-of-the-money option.
define an option that’s deep in the money
describes options that are in the money and for which the strike price and the stock price are very far apart
define an option that’s deep out of the money
describes options that are out of the money and for which the strike price and the stock price are very far apart
are stock option contracts always written on 100 shares of stock
yes,
which is more valuable a right to buy or sell when the call options with lower strike prices have higher market price
is it valuable to have a longer period to exercise
or having a put option with a higher strike price
call options with lower strike prices have higher market prices—the right to buy the stock at a lower price is more valuable than the right to buy it for a higher price. Conversely, because the put option gives the holder the right to sell the stock at the strike price, for the same expiration puts with higher strikes are more valuable. On the other hand, holding fixed the strike price, both calls and puts are more expensive for a longer time to expiration. Because these options are American-style options that can be exercised at any time, having the right to buy or sell for a longer period is more valuable.
define hedge
to reduce risk by holding contracts or securities whose payoffs are negatively correlated with some risk exposure
define speculate
when investors use securities to place a bet on the direction in which they believe the market is likely to move
how to hedge with options or speculate with options
a stock index put option can be used to offset the losses on an investor’s portfolio in a market downturn. Using an option to reduce risk in this way is called hedging. specifically, to hedge with options is to reduce risk by holding option contracts whose payoffs are negatively correlated with a risk exposure. Options also allow investors to speculate, or place a bet on the direction in which they believe the market is likely to move. By purchasing a call, for example, investors can bet on a market rise with a much smaller investment than investing in the market index itself.
how to consider the option payoffs at expiration
we must determine an option’s payoff at the time of expiration. When we consider the payoff at expiration for an option owner, we ignore the initial cost of purchasing the option. Similarly, when we are considering the payoff at expiration for an option writer, we ignore the initial amount received when the option was sold to the buyer.
what’s the formula for the call value at experiation
C = max(S-K, 0)
where C = value of the call option
S = stock price at expiration
K = exercise price
the call’s value is the max difference between the stock price and strike price and zero
what’s the formula for the value of the put value at expiration
p = max(K-S, 0)
does a short position on a call option have a limit to downside
no, they have unlimited downside risk