Options Contracts
Options markets trade options contracts, with the smallest trading unit being one contract. Options contracts specify the trading parameters of the market, such as the type of option, the expiration or exercise date, the tick size, and the tick value. For example, the contract specifications for the ZG (Gold 100 Troy Ounce) options market are as follows:
Symbol: ZGExpiration date: Expires into the nearest month of the six-month contract cycle (Feb., April, June, Aug., Oct., Dec.)Exchange: ICE Futures U.S.Currency: USDMultiplier / Contract value: $100Tick size / Minimum price change: 0.1Tick value / Minimum price value: $10Strike or exercise price intervals: $25 and $50 per ounceExercise style: AmericanDelivery: a futures contract
The contract specifications are specified for one contract, so the tick value shown above is the tick value per contract. If a trade is made with more than one contract, then the tick value is increased accordingly. For example, a trade made on the ZG options market with three contracts would have an equivalent tick value of 3 X $10 = $30, which would mean that for every 0.1 change in price, the trade’s profit or loss would change by $30.
Call and Put
Options are available as either a Call or a Put, depending on whether they give the right to buy, or the right to sell. Call options give the holder the right to buy the underlying commodity, and Put options give the right to sell the underlying commodity. The buying or selling right only takes effect when the option is exercised, which can happen on the expiration date (European options), or at any time up until the expiration date (American options). Like futures markets, options markets can be traded in both directions (up or down). If a trader thinks that the market will go up, they will buy a Call option, and if they think that the market will go down, they will buy a Put option.
Long and Short
With options markets, as with futures markets, long and short refer to the buying and selling of one or more contracts, but unlike futures markets, they do not refer to the direction of the trade. For example, if a futures trade is entered by buying a contract, the trade is a long trade, and the trader wants the price to go up, but with options, a trade can be entered by buying a Put contract, and is still a long trade, even though the trader wants the price to go down. The following chart may help explain this further: Long Trade
Entry type: Buy a Call or a PutProfit potential: Unlimited (call) or underlying strike price value minus premium paid (put)Risk potential: Limited to the options premium
Short Trade
Entry type: Sell a Call or a PutProfit potential: Limited to the options premiumRisk potential: Unlimited
As shown above, a long options trade has unlimited profit potential, and limited risk, but a short options trade has limited profit potential and unlimited risk. However, this is not a complete risk analysis, and in reality, short options trades have more risk due to the unlimited upside potential of the underlying security.
Options Premium
When a trader buys an options contract (either a Call or a Put), they have the rights given by the contract, and for these rights, they pay an upfront fee to the trader selling the options contract. This fee is called the options premium, which varies from one options market to another, and also within the same options market depending upon when the premium is calculated. The option’s premium is calculated using three main criteria, which are as follows:
In, At, or Out of the Money: If an option is in the money, its premium will have additional value because the option is already in profit, and the profit will be immediately available to the buyer of the option. If an option is at the money, or out of the money, its premium will not have any additional value because the options are not yet in profit. Time Value: All options contracts have an expiration date, after which they become worthless. The more time that an option has before its expiration date, the more time there is available for the option to come into profit, so its premium will have additional time value. The less time that an option has until its expiration date, the less time there is available for the option to come into profit, so its premium will have either lower additional time value or no additional time value. Volatility: If an options market is highly volatile (i.e. if its daily price range is large), the premium will be higher, because the option has the potential to make more profit for the buyer. Conversely, if an options market is not volatile (i.e. if its daily price range is small), the premium will be lower.
Entering and Exiting a Trade
A long options trade is entered by buying an options contract and paying the premium to the options seller. If the market then moves in the desired direction, the options contract will come into profit (in the money). There are two different ways that an in-the-money option can be turned into realized profit. The first is to sell the contract (as with futures contracts) and keep the difference between the buying and selling prices as the profit. Selling an options contract to exit a long trade is safe because the sale is of an already owned contract. The second way to exit a trade is to exercise the option and take delivery of the underlying futures contract, which can then be sold to realize the profit. The preferred way to exit a trade is to sell the contract, as this is easier than exercising, and in theory is more profitable, because the option may still have some remaining time value.
