Stock Learning

Options are financial instruments that can provide you, the individual investor, with the flexibility you need in almost any investment situation you might encounter.
Options give you options. You’re not just limited to buying, selling or staying out of the market. With options, you can tailor your position to your own situation and stock market outlook.

Consider the following potential benefits of options:

You can protect stock holdings from a decline in market price
You can increase income against current stock holdings
You can prepare to buy stock at a lower price
You can position yourself for a big market move — even when you don’t know which way prices will move
You can benefit from a stock price’s rise or fall without incurring the cost of buying or selling the stock outright

A stock option is a contract which conveys to its holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell shares of the underlying security at a specified price on or before a given date. After this given date, the option ceases to exist. The seller of an option is, in turn, obligated to sell (or buy) the shares to (or from) the buyer of the option at the specified price upon the buyer’s request. Options are currently traded on the following U.S. exchanges:
American Stock Exchange LLC (AMEX),
Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc. (CBOE),
International Securities Exchange (ISE),
Pacific Exchange, Inc. (PCX),
Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc. (PHLX).

Like trading in stocks, option trading is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Benefits of Exchange-Traded Options

Orderly, Efficient, and Liquid Markets
Flexibility
Leverage
Limited Risk
Guaranteed Contract Performance.

These are the major benefits of options traded on securities exchanges today. Although the history of options extends several centuries, it was not until 1973 that standardized, exchange-listed and government-regulated
options became available. In only a few years, these options virtually displaced the limited trading in over-the-counter options and became an indispensable tool for the securities industry.

Orderly, Efficient, and Liquid Markets

Standardized option contracts provide orderly, efficient, and liquid option markets. Except under special circumstances, all stock option contracts are for 100 shares of the underlying stock. The strike price of an option is the specified share price at which the shares of stock will be bought or sold if the buyer of an option, or the holder, exercises his option. Strike prices are listed in increments of 2.5, 5, or 10 points,
depending on the market price of the underlying security, and only strike prices a few levels above and below the current market price are traded. Other than for long-term options, or LEAPS,
which are discussed below, at any given time a particular option can generally be bought with one of
four expiration dates (see tables). As a result of this standardization, option prices can be obtained quickly and easily at any time during trading hours. Additionally, closing option prices (premiums) for exchange-traded options are published daily in many newspapers. Option prices are set by buyers and sellers on the exchange floor where all trading is conducted in the open, competitive manner of an auction market.

Flexibility

Options are an extremely versatile investment tool. Because of their unique risk/reward structure, options can be used in many combinations with other option contracts and/or other financial instruments to create either a hedged or speculative position.

Leverage

A stock option allows you to fix the price, for a specific period of time, at which you can purchase or sell 100 shares of stock for a premium (price) which is only a percentage of what you would pay to own the stock outright. That leverage means that by using options you may be able to increase your potential benefit from a stock’s price movements. For example, to own 100 shares of a stock trading at $50 per share would cost $5,000. On the other hand, owning a $5 call option with a strike price of $50 would give you the right to buy 100 shares of the same stock at any time during the life of the option and would cost only $500. Remember that premiums are quoted on a per share basis; thus a $5 premium represents a premium payment of $5 x 100, or $500, per option contract. Let’s assume that one month after the option was purchased, the stock price has risen to $55. The gain on the stock investment is $500, or 10%. However, for the same $5 increase in the stock price, the call option premium might increase to $7, for a return of $200, or 40%. Although the dollar amount gained on the stock investment is greater than the option investment, the percentage return is much greater with options than with stock. Leverage also has downside implications. If the stock does not rise as anticipated or falls during the life of the option, leverage will magnify the investment’s percentage loss. For instance, if in the above example the stock had instead fallen to $40, the loss on the stock investment would be $1,000 (or 20%). For this $10 decrease in stock price, the call option premium might decrease to $2 resulting in a loss of $300 (or 60%). You should take note, however, that as an option buyer, the most you can lose is the premium amount you paid for the option.

Limited Risk for Buyer

Unlike other investments where the risks may have no limit, options offer a known risk to buyers. An option buyer absolutely cannot lose more than the price of the option, the premium. Because the right to buy or sell the underlying security at a specific price expires on a given date, the option will expire worthless if the conditions for profitable exercise or sale of the contract are not met by the expiration date. An uncovered option seller (sometimes referred to as the uncovered writer of an option), on the other hand, may face unlimited risk.

Guaranteed Contract Performance

An option holder is able to look to the system created by OCC’s Rules – which includes the brokers and Clearing Members involved in a particular option transaction and to certain funds held by OCC – rather than to any particular option writer for performance. Prior to the existence of option exchanges and OCC, an option holder who wanted to exercise an option depended on the ethical and financial integrity of the writer or his brokerage firm for performance. Furthermore, there was no convenient means of closing out one’s position prior to the expiration of the contract. OCC, as the common clearing entity for all exchange-traded option transactions, resolves these difficulties. Once OCC is satisfied that there are matching orders from a buyer and a seller, it severs the link between the parties. In effect, OCC becomes the buyer to the seller and the seller to the buyer. As a result, the seller can buy back the same option he has written, closing out the initial transaction and terminating his obligation to deliver the underlying stock or exercise value of the option to OCC, and this will in no way affect the right of the original buyer to sell, hold or exercise his option. All premium and settlement payments are made to and paid by OCC.

* Available Months = the option expiration dates available for trading prior to the third Friday of the Current Month. There are always 2 near-term and 2 far-term months available. The most recently added expiration month is listed in bold-faced type. This new expiration month is added on the Monday following the third Friday of the month prior to the Current Month. For example, in the February Cycle, if the Current Month is September, the most recently added expiration (October) would have been added following the August expiration. These tables do not include LEAPS. Equity LEAPS/long-term stock options expire in January of the
specific year.


Options Compared to Common Stocks

Options share many similarities with common stocks:

• Both options and stocks are listed securities. Orders to buy and sell options are handled through brokers in the same way as orders to buy and sell stocks. Listed option orders are executed on national SEC-regulated exchanges where all trading is conducted in an open, competitive auction market.
• Like stocks, options trade with buyers making bids and sellers making offers. In stocks, those bids and offers are for shares of stock. In options, the bids and offers are for the right to buy or sell 100 shares (per option contract) of the underlying stock at a given price per share for a given period of time.
• Option investors, like stock investors, have the ability to follow price movements, trading volume and other pertinent information day by day or even minute by minute. The buyer or seller of an option can quickly learn the price at which his order has been executed.

Despite being quite similar, there are also some important differences between options and common stocks which should be noted:

• Unlike common stock, an option has a limited life. Common stock can be held indefinitely in the hope that its value may increase, while every option has an expiration date. If an option is not closed out or exercised prior to its expiration date, it ceases to exist as a financial instrument. For this reason, an option is considered a “wasting asset.”
• There is not a fixed number of options, as there is with common stock shares available. An option is simply a contract involving a buyer willing to pay a price to obtain certain rights and a seller willing to grant these rights in return for the price. Thus, unlike shares of common stock, the number of out-standing options (commonly referred to as “open interest”) depends solely on the number of buyers and sellers interested in receiving and conferring these rights.
• Unlike stocks which have certificates evidencing their ownership, options are certificateless. Option positions are indicated on printed statements prepared by a buyer’s or seller’s brokerage firm. Certificate-less trading, an innovation of the option markets, sharply reduces paperwork and delays.
• Finally, while stock ownership provides the holder with a share of the company, certain voting rights and rights to dividends (if any), option owners participate only in the potential benefit of the stock’s price movement.

What Is an Option?

A stock option is a contract which conveys to its holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell shares of the underlying security at a specified price on or before a given date. This right is granted by the seller of the option. There are two types of options, calls and puts. A call option gives its holder the right to buy an underlying security, whereas a put option conveys the right to sell an underlying security. For example, an American-style XYZ Corp. May 60 call entitles the buyer to purchase 100 shares of XYZ Corp. common stock at $60 per share at any time prior to the option’s expiration date in May. Likewise, an American-style XYZ Corp. May 60 put entitles the buyer to sell 100 shares of XYZ Corp. common stock at $60 per share at any time prior to the option’s expiration date in May.

Underlying Security

The specific stock on which an option contract is based is commonly referred to as the underlying security. Options are categorized as derivative securities because their value is derived in part from the value and characteristics of the underlying security. A stock option contract’s unit of trade is the number of shares of underlying stock which are represented by that option. Generally speaking, stock options have a unit of trade of 100 shares. This means that one option contract represents the right to buy or sell 100 shares of the underlying security.

Strike Price

The strike price, or exercise price, of an option is the specified share price at which the shares of stock can be bought or sold by the holder, or buyer, of the option contract if he exercises his right against a writer, or seller, of the option. To exercise your option is to exercise your right to buy (in the case of a call) or sell (in the case of a put) the underlying shares at the specified strike price of the option.
The strike price for an option is initially set at a price which is reasonably close to the current share price of the underlying security. Additional or subsequent strike prices are set at the following intervals:
2.5-points when the strike price to be set is $30 or less;
5-points when the strike price to be set is over $30 through $200;
10-points when the strike price to be set is over $200. New strike prices are introduced when the price of the underlying security rises to the highest, or falls to the lowest, strike price currently available. The strike price, a fixed specification of an option contract, should not be confused with the premium, the price at which the contract trades, which fluctuates daily. If the strike price of a call option is less than the current market price of the underlying security, the call is said to be in-the-money because the holder of this call has the right to buy the stock at a price which is less than the price he would have to pay to
buy the stock in the stock market. Likewise, if a put option has a strike price that is greater than the current market price of the underlying security, it is also said to be in-the-money because the holder of this put has the right to sell the stock at a price which is greater than the price he would receive selling the stock in the stock market. The converse of in-themoney is, not surprisingly, out-of-the-money. If the
strike price equals the current market price, the option is said to be at-the-money.

Premium

Option buyers pay a price for the right to buy or sell the underlying security. This price is called the option premium. The premium is paid to the writer, or seller, of the option. In return, the writer of a call
option is obligated to deliver the underlying security (in return for the strike price per share) to a call
option buyer if the call is exercised. Likewise, the writer of a put option is obligated to take delivery of
the underlying security (at a cost of the strike price per share) from a put option buyer if the put is exercised.
Whether or not an option is ever exercised, the writer keeps the premium. Premiums are quoted on a per share basis. Thus, a premium of 0.80 represents a premium payment of $80.00 per option contract ($0.80 x 100 shares).

American, European and Capped Styles

There are three styles of options: American, European and Capped. In the case of an American option, the holder of an option has the right to exercise his option on or before the expiration date of the option; otherwise, the option will expire worthless and cease to exist as a financial instrument. At the present time, all exchange-traded stock options are American-style. A European option is an option which can only be exercised during a specified period of time prior to its expiration. A Capped option gives the holder the right to exercise that option only during a specified period of time prior to its expiration, unless the option reaches the cap value prior to expiration, in which case the option is automatically exercised. The holder or writer of any style of option can close out his position at any time simply by making an offsetting, or closing, transaction. A closing transaction is a transaction in which, at some point prior to expiration, the buyer of an option makes an offsetting sale of an identical option, or the writer of an option makes an offsetting purchase of an identical option. A closing transaction cancels out an investor’s previous position as the holder or writer of the option.

The Option Contract

An option contract is defined by the following elements: type (put or call), style (American, European or Capped), underlying security, unit of trade (number of shares), strike price, and expiration date. All option contracts that are of the same type and style and cover the same underlying security are referred to as a class of options. All options of the same class that also have the same unit of trade at the same strike price and expiration date are referred to as an option series.
If a person’s interest in a particular series of options is as a net holder (that is, if the number of contracts bought exceeds the number of contracts sold), then this person is said to have a long position in the series. Likewise, if a person’s interest in a particular series of options is as a net writer (if the number of contracts sold exceeds the number of contracts bought), he is said to have a short position in the series.

Exercising the Option

If the holder of an option decides to exercise his right to buy (in the case of a call) or to sell (in the
case of a put) the underlying shares of stock, the holder must direct his broker to submit an exercise notice to OCC. In order to ensure that an option is exercised on a particular day, the holder must notify his broker before the broker’s cut-off time for accepting exercise instructions on that day.
Different firms may have different cut-off times for accepting exercise instructions from customers, and those cut-off times may be different for different classes of options. Upon receipt of an exercise notice, OCC will then assign this exercise notice to one or more Clearing Members with short positions in the same
series in accordance with its established procedures. The Clearing Member will, in turn, assign one or more of its customers (either randomly or on a first in first out basis) who hold short positions in that series. The assigned Clearing Member will then be obligated to sell (in the case of a call) or buy (in the case of a put) the underlying shares of stock at the specified strike price. OCC then arranges with a stock clearing corporation designated by the Clearing Member of the holder who exercises the option for delivery of shares of stock (in the case of a call) or delivery of the settlement amount (in the case of a put) to be made through the facilities of a correspondent clearing corporation.

The Expiration Process

A stock option usually begins trading about eight months before its expiration date. The exception is LEAPS or long-term options, discussed below. However, as a result of the sequential nature of the expiration cycles, some options have a life of only one to two months. A stock option trades on one of three expiration cycles. At any given time, an option can be bought or sold with one of four expiration dates as designated in the expiration cycle tables.
The expiration date is the last day an option exists. For listed stock options, this is the Saturday following the third Friday of the expiration month. Please note that this is the deadline by which brokerage
firms must submit exercise notices to OCC; however, the exchanges and brokerage firms have rules and procedures regarding deadlines for an option holder to notify his brokerage firm of his intention to exercise. Please contact your broker for specific deadlines.
OCC has developed a procedure known as Exercise By Exception to expedite its processing of exercises of expiring options by certain brokerage firms that are Clearing Members of OCC. Under this procedure, which is sometimes referred to as “ex-by-ex”, OCC has established in-the-money thresholds and every contract at or above its in-themoney threshold will be exercised unless OCC’s Clearing Member specifically instructs OCC to the contrary. Conversely, a contract under its in-themoney threshold will not be exercised unless OCC's Clearing Member specifically instructs OCC to do so. OCC does have discretion as to which securities are subject to, and may exclude other securities from, the ex-by-ex procedure. You should also note that ex-by-ex is not intended to dictate which customer positions should or should not be exercised and that ex-by-ex does not relieve a holder of his obligation to tender an exercise notice to his firm if the holder desires to exercise his option. Thus, most firms require their customers to notify the firm of the customer’s intention to exercise even if an option is in-the-money. You should ask your firm to explain its exercise procedures including any deadline the firm may have for exercise instructions on the last trading day before expiration.

LEAPS®/Long-Term Options

Long-term Equity AnticiPation Securities® (LEAPS®)/long-term stock options provide the owner the right to purchase or sell shares of a stock at a specified price on or before a given date up to three years in the future. As with other options, LEAPS® are available in two types, calls and puts. Like other exchange-traded stock options, LEAPS® are American-style options. LEAPS® calls provide an opportunity to benefit from a stock price increase without making an outright stock purchase for those investors with a longer term view of the stock market. An initial LEAPS® position does not require an investor to manage each position daily. Purchase of LEAPS® puts provides a hedge for stock owners against substantial declines in their stocks. Current options users will also find LEAPS® appealing if they desire to take a longer term position of up to three years in some of the same options they currently trade. Like other stock options, the expiration date for LEAPS® is the Saturday following the third Friday of the expiration month. All equity LEAPS® expire in January.

The Pricing of Options

There are several factors which contribute value to an option contract and thereby influence the premium or price at which it is traded. The most important of these factors are the price of the underlying stock, time remaining until expiration, the volatility of the underlying stock price, cash dividends, and interest rates.

Underlying Stock Price

The value of an option depends heavily upon the price of its underlying stock. As previously explained, if the price of the stock is above a call option’s strike price, the call option is said to be in-the-money. Likewise, if the stock price is below a put option’s strike price, the put option is in-themoney. The difference between an in-the-money option’s strike price and the current market price of a share of its underlying security is referred to as the option’s intrinsic value. Only in-the-money options have intrinsic value.
For example, if a call option’s strike price is $45 and the underlying shares are trading at $60, the
option has intrinsic value of $15 because the holder of that option could exercise the option and buy the
shares at $45. The buyer could then immediately sell these shares on the stock market for $60, yielding a
profit of $15 per share, or $1,500 per option contract. When the underlying share price is equal to the strike price, the option (either call or put) is at-the-money. An option which is not in-the-money or
at-the-money is said to be out-of-the-money. An at-the-money or out-of-the-money option has no intrinsic value, but this does not mean it can be obtained at no cost. There are other factors which give options value and therefore affect the premium at which they are traded. Together, these factors are termed time value. The primary components of time value are time remaining until expiration, volatility, dividends, and interest rates. Time value is the amount by which the option premium exceeds the intrinsic value.

Option Premium = Intrinsic Value + Time Value

For in-the-money options, the time value is the excess portion over intrinsic value. For at-the-money and out-of-the-money options, the time value is the total option premium.

Time Remaining Until Expiration

Generally, the longer the time remaining until an option’s expiration date, the higher the option premium
because there is a greater possibility that the underlying share price might move so as to make the option in-the-money. Time value drops rapidly in the last several weeks of an option’s life.

Volatility

Volatility is the propensity of the underlying security’s market price to fluctuate either up or down.
Therefore, volatility of the underlying share price influences the option premium. The higher the volatility of the stock, the higher the premium because there is, again, a greater possibility that the option will move in-the-money.

Dividends

Regular cash dividends are paid to the stock owner. Therefore, cash dividends affect option premiums through their effect on the underlying share price. Because the stock price is expected to fall by the amount of the cash dividend, higher cash dividends tend to imply lower call premiums and higher put premiums.
Options customarily reflect the influences of stock dividends (e.g., additional shares of stock) and stock splits because the number of shares represented by each option is adjusted to take these changes into consideration.

Interest Rates

Historically, higher interest rates have tended to result in higher call premiums and lower put premiums.

Understanding Option Premium Tables

Premiums (prices) for exchange-traded options are published daily in a large number of newspapers. A typical newspaper listing looks as follows:

1) stock identification 4) closing option prices
2) stock closing price 5) option expiration months
3) option strike prices r = not traded s = no option listed

In this example, the out-of-the-money XYZ July 115 calls closed at 3.50, or $350 per contract, while XYZ stock closed at 112.35. The in-the-money July 120 puts closed at 8.75, or $875 per contract.