Options Trading Basics: A Review

1. Options give the investor the right to buy or sell the underlying asset or instrument.

2. If you buy options, you are not obliged to buy or sell the underlying asset, you just have the right. Meaning, you can choose to buy the options, sell the options or do nothing and let it expire, depending on what is most advantageous to your position.

3. Options are either call or put. Call options give the power to the buyer to buy the options. Put options give the buyer the right to sell the options.

4. Options are quoted per share, but are sold in 100 share lots. Meaning, if the investor purchases 1 option, he or she is buying 100 shares.

5. The investor only has to pay the option premium and not the total amount of shares like if you are buying per stock. For example, if the option premium of a $50 stock is $3, the total amount of the contract is $300 per option. So if the investor is buying 3 options at $3 per option, since he or she is buying in 100 share lots, the total payment would be $900 (3 options x 100 shares per option x $3 option premium).

6. Buying shares is different. You have to pay per share. For example, the stock price of Company A is $80. If you want to buy 100 shares, you would have to pay $8,000. Whereas with options, if you wish to invest on 100 shares, you just have to enter into a contract wherein you would buy one option at a certain option premium.

7. If you wish to buy the stock at the end of the contract, that will be the only time where you will pay the total amount of money that is equivalent to the number of option contracts, multiplied by contract multiplier. Refer to #6 for example.

8. If the buyer exercises his rights to buy the option (call), the seller (or the writer) is obliged to deliver the underlying asset.

9. If the buyer exercises his rights to sell the option (put), the seller is obliged to purchase the underlying asset.

10. If the buyer wishes to exercise his rights to either buy or sell the underlying asset, the seller must either sell it or buy it at the strike price, regardless of the its current price.

11. In case the buyer of the option decides to do nothing at the end of the contract for whatever reason, the seller keeps the option premium as profit.

12. In computing your profit, you have to consider 2 things: the option premium and the strike price. If the option premium is $2 and the strike price is $50, your break-even point is at $52. So in order for you to make a profit, the stock must be more than $52. If the stock falls below $52, say $49, and there is no time left, you won't lose $3 per stock. What you will lose, however, is the option premium you have paid for the contract.

Note: The numbers were just picked out of the air to illustrate how options trading work. In real world, numbers vary widely so you have to carefully study each of them.

        

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Option Trading Important Terminologies

Although there are hundreds of terms that are used in the financial language, beginners have to understand first the most important and commonly used words.

Option – is the right of the buyer to either buy or sell the underlying asset at a fixed price and a fixed date. At the end of the contract, the owner can exercise to either buy or sell the option at the strike price. The owner has the right to pursue the contract but he or she is not obligated to do so.

Call option – gives the owner the right to buy the underlying asset.

Put Option – gives the owner the right to sell the underlying asset.

Exercise – is the action where the owner can choose to buy (if call option) or sell (if put option) the underlying asset or, to ignore the contract. If the owner chooses to pursue the contract, he must send an exercise notice to the seller.

Expiration – is the date where the contract ends. After the expiration and the owner does not exercise his or her rights, the contract is terminated.

In-the-money – is an option with an intrinsic value. The call option is in-the-money if the underlying asset is higher than the strike price. The put option is in-the-money if the underlying asset is lower than the strike price.

Out-of-the-money – is an option with no intrinsic value. The call option is out-of-the-money if the trading price is lower than the strike price. The put option is out-of-the-money if the trading price is higher than the strike price.

Offsetting – is an act by which the owner of the option exercises his right to buy or sell the underlying asset before the end of the contract. This is done if the owner feels that the profitability of the stock has reached its peak within the date of the contract.

(Option seller) Writer – is the seller of the underlying asset or the option.

Option buyer – is the person who acquires the rights to convey the option.

Strike Price – is the price at which the underlying stock must be sold or purchased if the contract is exercised. The strike price is clearly stated in the contract. For the buyer of the option to make a profit, the strike price must be lower than the current trading price of the stock. For example, if the contract states that the strike price of a certain stock is $20 and the current trading price at the end of the contract is $25, the buyer can exercise his or her rights to pursue the contract, thus earning $5 per stock.

Option Premium – is the amount of the contract which must be paid by the buyer to the writer (the seller). The amount of the option premium is determined by several factors such as the type of the option (call or put), the strike price of the current option, the volatility of the stock, the time remaining until expiration and the price of the underlying asset to date. Taking into account these factors, the total amount of the option premium is number of option contracts, multiplied by contract multiplier. So if you are buying 1 option contract (equivalent to 100 share lots) at $2.5 per share, you must pay a total amount of $250 as the option premium (1 option contract x 100 shares x $2.5 per share = $250).

   

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The Benefits of Options Trading

It is easy to dismiss the benefits of a trade if the most typical description attached to it is risk. But it should not be so. There are great benefits that may be taken from participating in options trading that most people overlook. One should take into account that all types of trades have inherent risks but they also offer advantages in return.

Flexibility

Although it is true that options trading may not fit everyone, it still does not change the fact that to those traders who have made this trade work for them, it is clear for them that options offer great flexibility for both the option buyer and the seller. 

Most types of trading do not allow profiting from the underlying asset. However, with option trading this is very possible. There are various strategies traders use to maximize this advantage.

Protection

In comparison to other kinds of trades, particularly stock trading, options trading could give better protection to its participants. Significant losses are typically uncommon in this trade since traders only lose what they have invested and more often than not, investments are just minimal because they are limited only to the price of the option. It should be noted that typical options are just 10% of the value of the asset.

Traders could also benefit from protective put. This is a type of options strategy that allows for purchasing the same number of puts and stocks such that the stocks are protected from depreciation of value. Also, a trader who needs to buy an option in the future at a certain price can do so. It is, in a way, insurance for the trader who currently has investments on long stock positions, especially during the times when the market is uncertain.

Leverage

Since the trader bought the "option" and not the stock, he could profit with very little investment. By coughing a small amount, the trader can control the full value of the stock because he holds a contract that performs in the same way the stock performs but for only a fraction of the stock price. This is probably the main reason why option trading is very appealing to traders with small funds.

Limited Risks

The limitations of risks can be seen from two perspectives. First, is from the duration or the period of the option and second, is from paying a minimum amount for the full value of the asset. During the period of the options, the holder can either exercise the option or not. Any unnecessary movement in the market may be prevented, thus giving more protection to the holder. On the other hand, if the option is not profitable, the holder will only endure the losses for a short and definite period of time. 

Volatility Trading

Most trades only offer upwards and downwards movement. With this kind of trading, the participant may trade even when the market is dormant.

On a final note, by working within the principle of option trading, the trader has the liberty to buy or not to buy an option depending on the movement. That, in itself, is a great benefit since the trader is not obligated to pursue with the purchase of an asset even when he has already lost interest on it. The only thing one can lose is the payment for the option, which significantly costs lesser when compared with the price of the actual stock 

Recomended ebook:

     

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Option Trading: Tips for Beginners

Trading, in general, is a highly technical field that does not only require would-be participants to have some understanding on what a particular trade is or how it works but also in-depth knowledge of what goes within a particular trade. In short, basic knowledge is not as helpful as most think it is. Specialized trading types, such as that of options trading, may force its participants to gain more knowledge.

Here are some tips that could help power you up when starting with options trading:

Know the lingo. Option trading has its own jargon that may seem gibberish to people who do not know a thing about the trade. To them, the terminologies commonly used in trading, regardless of the form, seem so complicated that they would lose interest on the trade even before they get started. Well the lingo of options trading is downright complicated, probably contributing to why too few people involve themselves to it. However, once a trader manages to pick up some basic terms and has learned quite a bit about the trade, it would be much easier to understand how the whole thing works. Probably not all the ins and outs of the trade but the general idea would be well-understood. So do yourself a favor, study the terminologies commonly used in options trading and maybe after that, read a few stuffs about it.

Attend options trading seminars, online or off line. If you want the shortcut to learning the trade, you might want to consider attending seminars or subscribing to online seminars and tutorials. In most cases, seminars cover all levels of knowledge regarding the trade. So for beginners, it would be best to start with the basics of the trade and continuously improve your knowledge by completing a series of seminars.

Subscribe to online tutorials. There are several websites and companies that offer online tutorials which may consist of interactive modules, probably among the best learning tool there is. Interactive modules allow you to learn by practice.

Indulge yourself to some options trading books. Internet could provide the basic things you need to get started with options trading but you must realize that internet can only give you so much. If you have started researching online about this trade, you will find out that the websites dedicated on options trading and other kinds of trades only cover the same things- basics of the trade, common terminologies, some risks involved and others. If you want thorough discussions on the trade, you have to rely on books written by well-recognized authors. Remember the operating word- well recognized. There may be a number of books written on this subject but you must try to pick the best book available so you don’t have to waste your time on repetitive information that you could commonly find online and rubbish talk that may not help you at all.

Once you have read a comprehensive book that discusses on various areas of options trading, it would be much easier to understand technical analysis. At this point, you will have to analyze what the charts suggest, know the types of options that you may want to trade (there are lots of them so be sure to pick out the one that suits you best), use the options strategies that work well with you, and demonstrate knowledge on various market analysis tools. 

Recomended books:

                             

(Hedge Fund Stock & Forex 

Chart Tool / Technical Analysis  )         

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