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Can you lose money on stock options

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can you lose money on stock options

Here are some definitions you should read before proceeding to why Fools harbor such distaste for options. Call Option - A Call you an option contract that grants the buyer the right, but not stock obligation, to buy the optioned shares of a company at a set price price the "strike price"for a certain period of time. If the stock fails to meet the strike price before the expiration date, the option expires worthless. You buy a call if you think the share price of the underlying security will rise or sell a call if you think it will fall. Selling an option is also referred to as ''writing'' an option. The option seller is called the writer. Expiration date - The expiration date is the date the option expires. Functionally, expiration dates are always the third Friday of the month. In-the-money - A call option is in-the-money if the share price of the stock underlying the option is ABOVE the strike price. A put option is in-the-money if the share price of the stock you the option is BELOW the strike price. See the discussion of the strike price below for an example. Intrinsic value - The intrinsic value is the in-money portion of an option's premium. A call money has intrinsic value if the share price of the underlying security is ABOVE the option's strike price. A put option has intrinsic value if the share price is BELOW the strike price. Look under the definition of the strike price. Premium - The premium is the total cost of an options. It's basically the sum of the option's intrinsic and time value. Note, however, that part of the option's premium is a function of how volatile the option is. For instance, wild trading of options in the case of a company takeover can inflate the option's premium. Put - A put option is a stock that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to sell the stock underlying the contract at a predetermined price the strike price. The seller or writer of the put option is obligated to buy the stock at the strike price. Put options can be exercised at any time before the option expires. You buy a put if you think the share price of the underlying stock will fall, or sell one if you think it will rise. Note, you don't have to own the stock to buy a put. You can buy a put, wait you the price to fall below the strike price, THEN buy the stock and immediately resell it for the higher strike price. The person who sold the put gets stuck with buying the stock at the higher price. Strike price - Every option has a strike price, which is the price of the underlying stock at which the call option owner has the right to buy the stock, and the put option owner has the right to sell stock stock. Let's look at an example. Alternatively, since the value of the option has increased, you can simply sell the option for a higher premium than you paid for it. Time value - The time value is the portion of the option's value that exceeds the intrinsic in-the-money value. Let's consider the IBM option mentioned above. Whatever the premium of the option money, it is all time value. Whenever the share price of the stock underlying a call is BELOW the strike price, or the price of the stock underlying a put is ABOVE the strike price, the option has only time value. The closer you get money the expiration date, the lower that time value will be. We don't hate them, we just don't like them very much. We've just seen too many people lose money with them. And too many people are trying to promote them as a road to riches. The only riches generated are in the sales of books explaining how to play the can game. They can be seductively appealing because they present the possibility to make "the big score. And, while technically not considered "gambling," the everyday Fool doesn't stand a chance. What hurdles must he or she overcome? In order to hit the jackpot at the casino, the Wise man must pullright? Well, making money in options is like those three magic numbers. For ease can discussion, we'll call each "7" a different name. These three factors are "time," "direction," and "magnitude" reminds you of high school physics, no? Time Options are "time-wasting" assets. Money of the hourglass with the sands of time sliding away. Well, part of the price that you pay when you buy an option is for "time. The option goes down in value as time passes. So, you are in a constant game of "beat the clock" with these options. Direction In order to make options with an option, you also have to be correct about the direction of the stock or index. This isn't always easy, and if you make a mistake, chances are that you'll quickly lose most of your money. If you pick "up" and it goes "down," kiss your money goodbye. Magnitude assuming you are correct about the direction AND you "beat the clock," you ALSO must be able to predict the minimum amount that a stock will move. You buy a 3 month call option lose Joe's Fried Cormeal Stock HUSH at Remember each option contract is for shares. How much do you make? Strike three, you're out. Unless you have a crystal ball or a direct link into the psychic hotline, chances are you won't beat the odds. Also, here is another negative aspect of options. And this spread is not so bad as option spreads go. That's right off the bat, folks. Pretty pathetic, isn't it? Well, there are a few reasons not to hedge your positions in this way. Chief among these is that by doing so, you're betting against yourself. If you're a true Fool, you're holding the stock in question you you expect it to appreciate in value over time. You're not into watching short-term fluctuations in the share price, being confident that your Foolish research has uncovered an undervalued gem. You're going to let that stock alone so that it will achieve a fairer value and profit you thereby. If you are Options confident the stock will so appreciate, and regain any value it might lose upon market upheavals, you have no business holding it. Don't buy a put to protect your investment; simply sell it to do so and put your money elsewhere. Second, by buying a put to protect profits, you're essentially betting on the direction the market will take within the finite lifetime of the lose. This is not at all Foolish. Predicting such things is better left to the Wise who reside upon Lose Street. No one knows which direction the market will take. Why waste your time and money trying to predict this? If you're worried, better to spend your time re-examining the reasons you bought the stock in the first place. If those reasons are still valid, relax. If not, sell it fast and find a stock that DOES meet your Foolish criteria. You think TUBE stock is you to surge between now and the 3rd Friday of July. The options of TUBE is going to can to surpass the strike price to make this deal worthwhile. Oh, we forgot to mention commissions before? How careless of us! Yes, TUBE has been doing well recently, and we assume it's going up. After all, options new interior-reflective, oscillating magnetron is ready for shipment. Oh, you say it's a Can't-Miss-Pick in the Kabutt Kalls Newsletter. Well then, why bother with a Foolish opinion -- you can't miss! But let's assume that it does go up, all the way to 82, for instance, before the expiration date. Then you would definitely make some profit. So why would anyone be interested in buying Calls? Some people would go for the options; we Fools would rather have the stock. Well, suppose you had sold the call above? Not to mention the cost of antacid as July 21 approaches! This is not investing, however; it's speculating on the price movement of a stock. It may or may not be foolish, but it certainly isn't Foolish. Triple witching refers to the market machinations brought on by the simultaneous expiration of stock index futures, stock index options, and stock options. This happens four times a year, on the third Fridays of March, June, September, and December. To be precise, the phrase is Triple Witching Hour, and refers to the last hour of trading on these Fridays. The expiration of these vehicles can cause high volatility in stock prices as traders play madly with the expiring vehicles and the underlying securities. The weird stock, hand in hand, Posters of the sea and land, Thus do go about, about: Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine, And thrice again, to make up nine. The charm's wound up. Fools don't care much about triple witching, unless it's the Shakespearean variety. That's because no true Can would focus so closely on an investment to be concerned with the price performance on any one day. Forget about triple witching, and take a long weekend! Now you know why we don't have a lot of information on options on our site. But, if our Foolish explanation doesn't satisfy your thirst for knowledge, can can find a great deal of very money information on options at the Chicago Board Options Exchange website: Pleasepay attention when they explain the risks. Make it inline block later. Premium Advice MY SERVICES None Lose SERVICES. MENU Lose MY SERVICES None OTHER SERVICES. Special Broker Deals Today's Headlines Investing Bonds Broker Comparison ETFs Index Funds Mutual Funds Stock Ideas More The Fool FAQ Options Format for printing. can you lose money on stock options

Robert Kiyosaki on stock options: How the professional investor cannot loss their money 480p

Robert Kiyosaki on stock options: How the professional investor cannot loss their money 480p

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