answersLogoWhite

0

What is an option?

Updated: 9/11/2023
User Avatar

Wiki User

8y ago

Best Answer

An option is the right to buy or sell the underlying commodity (e.g., stock) during a specific future time at a predetermined price. The price or cost of an option is called a "premium". The factors which determine an option's value are: 1. Price of the underlying 2. Time to Expiry 3. Strike of the option 4. Volatility of the underlying General Electric stock is currently trading at $34.00. You purchase a Call option ("right to buy") X shares of GE stock at $30.00 on 17 Nov 2006. Underlying = X shares of General Electric Stock Strike = $30.00 Expiry = 18 November 2006 Option Cost: $4.70 (1) At expiry: GE Stock is $40.00. You "exercise" your option: Buy the stock at $30.00, then sell the stock at $40.00, to make $10.00 on the exercise. Your profits are: $10.00 - $4.70 (cost of option) = $5.30 per share (2) At expiry: GE Stock is $28.00. You could buy the stock at $30, but then you'd lose $2.00 per share! Your options expire worthless, and you have lost the money you paid for the options. If the price of GE is only $34.00 today, why would you pay $4.70 for the right to buy it at $30.00? ($34.00 strike - $30.00 current price = only $4.00!) The answer is that we don't expect a stock price to remain constant over time. This is where uncertainty comes into play. Uncertainty has value. A stock price is volatile. Think about it: would you expect GE share price in a month to be exactly the same price it is today? No. So there is a good chance that the price will be above $34.00 (or below $34.00). Along these same lines, the more time there is between now and expiry, the more uncertainty there is. Therefore, time and volatility play a big role in how an option is valued. Going back to GE, we can easily see the time value reflected in the price of an option with the same strike but different expiry. The extra month of time is worth $0.30 upfront cost. Underlying = X shares of General Electric Stock Strike = $30.00 Expiry = ** 18 November 2006 ** Option Cost: $4.70 Underlying = X shares of General Electric Stock Strike = $30.00 Expiry = ** 18 December 2006 ** Option Cost: $5.00
An option grants the holder the right but not the obligation to buy or sell the underlying stock at a fixed price by a fixed date.

As options only cost a fraction of the price of the underlying stock, it is commonly used as a speculative leverage instrument.
that you think what you think

User Avatar

Wiki User

8y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What is an option?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Finance

How do you determine whether the currency option is in the money?

"In the Money" is a term used in option trading as a determinate to if an option has "Intrinsic Value." In the Money, does NOT mean in profit. There are two components to an option value, TIME VALUE, and INTRINSIC VALUE. Time Value + Intrinsic Value = Option Premium. When the market price is above the option strike price of a CALL option, that option is considered "In the Money" i.e. having intrinsic value. When the market price is below the option strike price of a PUT option, that option is considered "In the Money" i.e. having intrinsic value.


What causes an increase in the value of an option?

An increase in the market price of the item the option is for.


What is the option to sell shares of stock at a specified time in the future called?

It's actually called a call option. I will provide you with a definition I just found for this, and some additional tips on options trading. - - - - - The option to sell shares is a put. The option to buy them is a call.


How can someone get into a company that does forex option trading?

You would want to speak to someone about forex option trading. The two primary options are called spot, or single option trading, and call/put option. You can make a very good amount of money if you invest it into trading.


In our decision matrix Option 1 receives a 3 for reliability and a 2 for cost and Option 2 receives a 1 for reliability and a 3 for cost. The reliability criterion has been assigned a weight?

Option 1 is better than Option 2 because its total weighted score is higher.

Related questions

What is an option buy?

An option buy is when you buy an option, whether call option or put option, using the Buy To Open order.


Is call option and buy option are same or not?

As far as I know there isn't a "buy option," but a call option is an option to buy so I guess you could think of it as a "buy option."


How do you spell option?

option


Euthanasia is not an option?

what are you on about euthenasia is sometimes the only option what am I on about ITS THE ONLY OPTION


How do you make symbols on a mac?

I know of two ways to do this....The easiest is1) Go to System Preferences2) Click on International3) Find the Input Menu button4) Choose Keyboard Viewer5) A little flag will appear on the toolbar, in the upper-right corner (varying depending on where you live)6) Click on the flag, and a drop-down list appears. Click on Show Keyboard Viewer.7) A miniature keyboard will appear on your screen. It works just like a normal one, though if you press Option, a bunch of symbols will come up.The other way is (probably simpler, but requires a very good memory)1) Click Option2) Choose any number or letter key.3) A symbol will come up.4) There are more symbols if you press the Shift key as well (my personal favourite being Option + Shift + K )5) You must remember what each combination does... that's why I find the Keyboard Viewer easiest.Here are all the different symbols:Option and ` =`Option and 1 = ¡Option and 2 = ™Option and 3 = £Option and 4 = ¢Option and 5 = ∞Option and 6 = §Option and 7 = ¶Option and 8 = •Option and 9 = ªOption and 0 = ºOption and - = -Option and = = ≠Option and q = œOption and w = ∑Option and e = ´Option and r = ®Option and t = †Option and y = ¥Option and u = ¨Option and i = ˆOption and o = øOption and p = πOption and [ = "Option and ] = 'Option and \ = «Option and a = åOption and s = ßOption and d = ∂Option and f = ƒOption and g = ©Option and h = ˙Option and j = ∆Option and k = ˚Option and l = ¬Option and ; = …Option and ' = æOption and z = ΩOption and x = ≈Option and c = çOption and v = √Option and b = ∫Option and n = ˜Option and m = µOption and , = ≤Option and . = ≥Option and / = ÷Option, Shift, and ` = `Option, Shift, and 1 = ⁄Option, Shift, and 2 = €Option, Shift, and 3 = ‹Option, Shift, and 4 = ›Option, Shift, and 5 = fiOption, Shift, and 6 = flOption, Shift, and 7 = ‡Option, Shift, and 8 = °Option, Shift, and 9 = ·Option, Shift, and 0 = 'Option, Shift, and - = -Option, Shift, and = = ±Option, Shift, and q = ŒOption, Shift, and w = "Option, Shift, and e = ´Option, Shift, and r = ‰Option, Shift, and t = ˇOption, Shift, and y = ÁOption, Shift, and u = ¨Option, Shift, and i = ˆOption, Shift, and o = ØOption, Shift, and p = ∏Option, Shift, and [ = "Option, Shift, and ] = 'Option, Shift, and \ = »Option, Shift, and a = ÅOption, Shift, and s = ÍOption, Shift, and d = ÎOption, Shift, and f = ÏOption, Shift, and g = ˝Option, Shift, and h = ÓOption, Shift, and j = ÔOption, Shift, and k = Option, Shift, and l = ÒOption, Shift, and ; = ÚOption, Shift, and ' = ÆOption, Shift, and z = ¸Option, Shift, and x = ˛Option, Shift, and c = ÇOption, Shift, and v = ◊Option, Shift, and b = ıOption, Shift, and n = ˜Option, Shift, and m = ÂOption, Shift, and , = ¯Option, Shift, and . = ˘Option, Shift, and / = ¿


Preferred HTML tag for drop down list?

That would be the <select> tag. Example of usage: <select> <option>Option 1 in drop-down list</option> <option selected="selected">Option 2 (selected by default because of the "selected" attribute)</option> <option disabled="disabled">Option 3 (disabled because of the "disabled" attribute)</option> </select>


Html pull down menu example for month day and year I would like to get an example on how to write month day and year in HTML form?

# <select name="month" id="month"> # <option value="1" <?PHP if($month==1) echo "selected";?>>January</option> # <option value="2" <?PHP if($month==2) echo "selected";?>>February</option> # <option value="3" <?PHP if($month==3) echo "selected";?>>March</option> # <option value="4" <?PHP if($month==4) echo "selected";?>>April</option> # <option value="5" <?PHP if($month==5) echo "selected";?>>May</option> # <option value="6" <?PHP if($month==6) echo "selected";?>>June</option> # <option value="7" <?PHP if($month==7) echo "selected";?>>July</option> # <option value="8" <?PHP if($month==8) echo "selected";?>>August</option> # <option value="9" <?PHP if($month==9) echo "selected";?>>September</option> # <option value="10" <?PHP if($month==10) echo "selected";?>>October</option> # <option value="11" <?PHP if($month==11) echo "selected";?>>November</option> # <option value="12" <?PHP if($month==12) echo "selected";?>>December</option> # </select> # # <select name="day" id="day"> # <option value="1" <?PHP if($day==1) echo "selected";?>>1</option> # <option value="2" <?PHP if($day==2) echo "selected";?>>2</option> # <option value="3" <?PHP if($day==3) echo "selected";?>>3</option> # <option value="4" <?PHP if($day==4) echo "selected";?>>4</option> # <option value="5" <?PHP if($day==5) echo "selected";?>>5</option> # <option value="6" <?PHP if($day==6) echo "selected";?>>6</option> # <option value="7" <?PHP if($day==7) echo "selected";?>>7</option> # <option value="8" <?PHP if($day==8) echo "selected";?>>8</option> # <option value="9" <?PHP if($day==9) echo "selected";?>>9</option> # <option value="10" <?PHP if($day==10) echo "selected";?>>10</option> # <option value="11" <?PHP if($day==11) echo "selected";?>>11</option> # <option value="12" <?PHP if($day==12) echo "selected";?>>12</option> # <option value="13" <?PHP if($day==13) echo "selected";?>>13</option> # <option value="14" <?PHP if($day==14) echo "selected";?>>14</option> # <option value="15" <?PHP if($day==15) echo "selected";?>>15</option> # <option value="16" <?PHP if($day==16) echo "selected";?>>16</option> # <option value="17" <?PHP if($day==17) echo "selected";?>>17</option> # <option value="18" <?PHP if($day==18) echo "selected";?>>18</option> # <option value="19" <?PHP if($day==19) echo "selected";?>>19</option> # <option value="20" <?PHP if($day==20) echo "selected";?>>20</option> # <option value="21" <?PHP if($day==21) echo "selected";?>>21</option> # <option value="22" <?PHP if($day==22) echo "selected";?>>22</option> # <option value="23" <?PHP if($day==23) echo "selected";?>>23</option> # <option value="24" <?PHP if($day==24) echo "selected";?>>24</option> # <option value="25" <?PHP if($day==25) echo "selected";?>>25</option> # <option value="26" <?PHP if($day==26) echo "selected";?>>26</option> # <option value="27" <?PHP if($day==27) echo "selected";?>>27</option> # <option value="28" <?PHP if($day==28) echo "selected";?>>28</option> # <option value="29" <?PHP if($day==29) echo "selected";?>>29</option> # <option value="30" <?PHP if($day==30) echo "selected";?>>30</option> # <option value="31" <?PHP if($day==31) echo "selected";?>>31</option> # </select> # # <select name="year" id="year"> # <?PHP for($i=date("Y"); $i<=date("Y")+2; $i++) # if($year == $i) # echo "<option value='$i' selected>$i</option>"; # else # echo "<option value='$i'>$i</option>"; # ?> # </select>


What should you major in as an undergraduate if you want to restore houses and business buildings?

One good option is architecture.One good option is architecture.One good option is architecture.One good option is architecture.One good option is architecture.One good option is architecture.


Genuine option by William James?

Genuine option - "we may call an option a genuine option when it is of the forced, living, and momentous kind"


What is difference between name and value in an HTML Form?

'Name' can be a field and 'value' can defined to the that particular field. Example: <select name="Car List"> <option value="volvo">Volvo</option> <option value="saab">Saab</option> <option value="mercedes">Mercedes</option> <option value="audi">Audi</option> </select>


What is the small circle that selects a single dialog box option?

option button


Html codes for feedback form?

<!doctype html> <html> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>Feedback Form</title> </head> <body> <h1>Feedback Form</h1> <form action="mailto:your email address" method="get" enctype="text/plain"> <p> Name: <input type="text" id="name" size="30"> </p> <p> Please rate my site from 1 to 10 (1 = bad and 10 = good): <br /> <select id="rating"><br /> <option>1</option> <option>2</option> <option>3</option> <option>4</option> <option>5</option> <option>6</option> <option>7</option> <option>8</option> <option>9</option> <option selected>10</option> </select> </p> <p> How would you suggest I improve it?<br /> <textarea id="improve" rows="5" cols="30"></textarea> </p> <p> <input type="submit" value="Send Feedback"> <input type="reset"> </p> </form> </body> </html>