Call options are contracts in which the buyer has the right to buy a certain specified quantity of security at a predetermined price within a fixed period of time. You do need to remember that the right to buy is not an obligation.
If you are a seller of a call option, it means an obligation to sell the underlying security at the specified price when the option is exercised. The seller is paid a premium for taking the risk that is often accompanied with the obligation. Each contract may cover 100 shares for stock options.
Buying options
Call buying is the easiest way of trading options. Beginners often start trading options by buying calls. This is popular among novice traders not just because of its simplicity but also due to the increased ROI (Return on Investment) that can be generated from successful trades.
Simple example:
Suppose the stock of ABC company is trading at $50 and a contract with a strike price of $50 is placed expiring within a month's time priced at $3. It is strongly believed that the stock may rise sharply after the earnings report is presented in the coming weeks.
Based on this $300 is paid to buy a $50 ABC option of 100 shares. Suppose the option is spot on and the price of ABC rallies to $60 after strong earnings, you may be able to make a profit of $1000.
Selling options
Instead of purchasing options, you can also choose to sell them for a profit. The sellers can choose to sell, as they may expect that the call may expire worthless and they may be able to make a profit from the premium. Selling or short call is risky but profitable if it is done in a proper manner. You can choose to sell covered calls or uncovered (naked) calls.
Covered calls - In this the short call is covered if the seller owns the quantity (obligated) of the underlying security. It is a popular strategy that enables the seller to get additional income from the stock holdings by periodically selling the options.
Uncovered calls - The option seller writes calls without owning the owning the underlying security. This is known as shorting the calls naked. If you are a novice trader then such a risky strategy is not recommended as you may lose big.
Call spreads - In this an equal number of option contracts are bought and sold simultaneously. The buying and selling is done of the same underlying security but with varying strike prices and expiration dates. This helps in limiting the maximum loss of the trader but it can also cap the potential profit that can be made at the same time.
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