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Trader's Guide to Options Part 2The information in this guide is intended to get you started with your understanding of options, the terminology, and their basic characteristics. In addition to this guide, it is recommended that you study all information available under the education section of your broker’s website. Most brokers who cater to options traders provide good information that will help you learn. Types of Options: Call Options: Call options increase in value when the underlying stock rises. Buyers of calls have the right, without any obligation, to buy the underlying stock at the strike of the options contract. They retain their right until the option no longer exists, defined by the expiration date. Call buyers anticipate the value of the underlying stock will rise. When it does, the value of the option will also increase at approximately the rate of the Delta. Buyers pay for the right to buy the stock in the future, sometime before expiration of the option. When buying the option, they pay the ask price. The premium they pay is less than buying the stock, yet they will still benefit from any appreciation in the value of the stock. Say you wanted to buy XYZ stock because you think it is going to move up from its current price of $84. Instead of buying the stock a trader could buy a call option for a fraction of the price of the stock. Remember, all the trader is doing is buying the right to buy the stock without any obligation to actually buy it. The option only costs $4.00 for the right to buy the stock at some future date. Buying 1,000 shares of the stock would require $84,000 but buying 10 options contracts would only cost $4,000. Call Options – The Sellers… Sellers of call options are selling to someone else the right to buy the underlying stock from them. When/if the buyer chooses to buy the stock from the seller, (remember, the buyer has no obligation to do so) it is referred to as an exercise…the buyer is exercising the right to buy the stock. The seller is obligated to deliver the stock to the buyer. A seller’s obligation ends when the stock is exercised, the option expires, or the option is bought to close (BTC). Call sellers receive a premium from the buyer. The buyer is paying the seller for the right to buy the stock in the future. Sellers want the price of the stock to go down. Why? If the price goes down, the buyer will have no reason to exercise since they could buy the stock for less at the current market price. In this case, the seller gets to keep the premium paid by the buyer. So, what does this mean in plain English? The concept of a call option is present in many situations. For example, you discover a painting that you would love to purchase. Unfortunately, you will not have the cash to buy it for another two months. You talk to the owner and negotiate a deal that gives you an option to buy the painting in two months for a price of $1,000. The owner agrees, and you pay the owner a premium of $50 for the right to buy the painting. Consider two possible scenarios that can impact the value of this “option”: Scenario 1: It is discovered that the back of the painting has a signature of a famous artist, which drives the value of the painting up to $10,000. Because the owner sold you an option which gives you the right but no obligation to purchase the painting at the previously agreed price, he is obligated to sell the painting to you, the buyer, for $1,000. The buyer would make a profit of $8,950 ($10,000 value – $1,000 purchase price – $50 for the cost of the option). Scenario 2: After closer review of the painting, it is discovered that the signature on the back is not of a famous artist, but is the brother of a famous artist. This actually drives the value of the painting down to $500. If the buyer exercised their option to purchase the painting it would cost $1,000. This would not make sense because the buyer could instead just buy it at “market price” for just $500. Since the buyer had no obligation to purchase based on the option contract, the agreement, or contract, would just expire and the buyer would lose the $50 premium paid. The example demonstrates two important points. When you buy an option, you have a right, but not an obligation, to do something. You can always let the expiration date pass, at which point the option becomes worthless. If this happens, you lose 100% of your investment, which is the money you paid for the option. Put Options Put options increase in value when the underlying stock decreases in value. Buyers of puts have the right, without any obligation, to “put” the underlying stock to someone else at the strike price of the options contract. They retain their right until they sell to close (STC) the option or it no longer exists, defined by the expiration date. Put buyers anticipate the value of the underlying stock will go down. When it does, the value of the option will increase at approximately the rate of the Delta. Buyers pay a premium for the right to be able to put (sell) the stock to someone else in the future, sometime before expiration of the option. When buying the option, they pay the ask price. Say you thought XYZ stock is going to move down from its current price of $84. Buying a put with a strike of $85 gives the buyer the right in the future to sell or put the stock to someone else at $85. So, if the stock declined to $75, the buyer of the option could buy the stock at $75 and immediately exercise their right to sell/put the stock at $85, making a $10 profit. Remember, all the trader is doing is buying the right but has no obligation. Put Options – The Sellers… Sellers of put options are selling to someone else the right to sell/put the underlying stock to them. When/if the buyer chooses to put their stock to the seller, this is referred to as being assigned……the buyer of the put option is assigning the stock to the seller. The seller is obligated to buy the stock based on the strike price of the contract. A seller’s obligation ends when the option expires or the option is bought to close (BTC). Put sellers receive a premium from the buyer. The buyer is paying the seller for the right to sell the stock to the seller in the future. Put sellers want the price of the stock to go up. Why? If the price goes up, the buyer will have no reason to assign the stock since they could sell the stock for more at the current market price. In this case, the seller gets to keep the premium paid by the buyer. Exercise and Assignment Most stocks and ETF’s are American style options. This means that if the buyer of an option chooses to exercise or assign their rights they may do so at any time prior to expiration. Indexes such at SPX , NDX and RUT are European style options. This means that any exercise or assignment may only occur at expiration. Who wins when the stock moves? 1. Buyers of Calls – win when the stock goes up 2. Sellers of Calls – win when the stock goes down 3. Buyers of Puts – win when the stock goes down 4. Sellers of Puts – win when the stock goes up Are you new to options trading? Stay tuned for Part 3 of Trader's Guide to Options which will include in-the-money, at-the-money, and out-of-the-money options as well as the reality of trading.
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SP:SPXEducation
by NewCycleTrading
8
Trader's Guide to OptionsThe information in this guide is intended to get you started with your understanding of #options, the terminology, and their basic characteristics. In addition to this guide, it is recommended that you study all information available under the education section of your broker’s website. Most brokers who cater to options traders provide good information that will help you learn. What is an option? An option is a financial contract between a buyer and a seller. It is an agreement to buy or sell the underlying equity (stock or index) at a set price by a pre-determined date. Instead of buying the stock a trader could buy an option for a fraction of the price of the stock. Options have the following characteristics: Traded as contracts and each contract represents 100 shares of the underlying stock or index. Pre-set expiration dates. Standard monthly options expire the third Friday of each month. Some index options like TVC:RUT , TVC:SPX , and TVC:NDX cease trading on Thursday before the third Friday. Weekly options expire each Friday. Price points, referred to as the strike price, are the prices at which buyers and sellers trade option contracts. Options are, usually, available to trade in standard price increments of $5 and $10. Quotes to buy or sell an option are presented as the bid and ask. When selling an option, the bid price is used. When buying an option, the ask price is used. Sell the bid / Buy the ask. Delta is the change in the value of an option relative to each $1.00 change in the value of the underlying stock. If an option has a Delta value of .45, it will change in value by 45 cents for each $1.00 change in the value of the stock. - NASDAQ:GOOG is trading at 1445. -The 1445 call strike has a Delta of .50 -GOOG goes down $10 -The 1445 call will decline in value by $5.00 = ( $10 * .50) The Options Chain: All option information for any stock or index is listed on an options chain. The options chain can be found on the website of the broker you use to trade. The chain will list all available strikes and expirations, the Delta, and the bid and ask prices. It will also display both Call and Put options. Ways to trade Options: There are four actions that could possibly be taken when trading options: 1. Buy To Open (BTO) - buying an option as part of opening a new position. 2. Sell To Open (STO) - selling an option as part of opening a new position. 3. Buy To Close (BTC) - buying back an option that was originally sold to open 4. Sell To Close (STC) - selling an option that was originally bought to open When a position is Bought-To-Open, it is referred to as a long position . When a position is Sold-To-Open, it is referred to as a short position . When a position is Bought-To-Open, it is done for a debit . When a position is Sold-To-Open, it is done for a credit . Are you new to options trading? Stay tuned for Part 2 of Trader's Guide to Options which will include teaching about call and put options. <- Direct link to chart image.
NASDAQ:GOOGEducation
by NewCycleTrading
Smurfit Kappa Group plc under-pinned by prospects of a bidSmurfit Kappa Group plc is an Irish Company. They are one of the world’s leading packaging companies using paper and cardboard materials. The company has operations in 35 countries with 46k employees and supplies thousands of customers with their packaging needs, particularly corrugated packaging and containerboard. Its main quote is on the London Stock Exchange in GBP. It is a FTSE 100 company with a market capitalisation of 7.4 billion. About a year and a half ago in February 2018, Smurfit Kappa’s board received an approach from the US paper company, International Paper Inc, offering to purchase the company at a premium to the prevailing price. The price offered was EUR 36.46 per share. Smurfit Kappa’s board rejected the offer, indicating that it did not fully value the company. After some discussions International Paper raised their offer to EUR 37.54 per share. Smurfit Kappa’s board continued to reject the offer. Finally, in June 2018, International Paper dropped it bid, due to lack of engagement with the Smurfit Kappa Board. Under stock Exchange rules they may not may a fresh bid for a period of one year. So far (as of 2nd July 2019), International Paper have given no indication that they may make a “hostile” bid for Smurfit Kappa. After the bid was dropped, the share price of Smurfit Kappa Group plc fell. It fell particularly heavily when markets fell at the end of 2018. The EUR 37.54 offer is equivalent to GBP 33.64 at today’s exchange rate of GBP/EUR=1.116. The current share price of Smurfit Kappa plc (2/7/2019) is £24.65. (Equivalent to EUR 27.46). The previous offer was thus some 36% above the current share price. Institutional shareholders are most likely upset that they were not offered the opportunity to accept the International Paper bid. Smurfit Kappa’s board is under pressure to demonstrate that they were right to reject the offer. In February 2019 Smurfit Kappa unveiled outstanding annual results for 2018 with revenue up 4%, EBITDA up 25% to EUR 1,545 millions, and pre-exceptional earnings per share up 58% to EUR 2.92. They raised the final dividend by 12% making the total dividends declared in respect of 2018 11% higher than 2017. In May 2019 Smurfit Kappa gave a trading update for the three months to 31st March 2019. Compared with the same period in the prior year, this showed revenue growth of 7%, EBITDA growth of 25% to EUR 424 million, and an increase in margin from 17.3% to 18.3%. The company plans to release its half year results to 30th June 2019 on 31st July 2019. Given the pressure that the board must feel to justify their rejection of the bid, I would expect another set of strong results, and a hike in the interim dividend. For fundamental investors, the company is trading on a p/e ratio of 9.41 which makes it seem quite cheap compared to the market average of around 15X. The annual dividend paid in 2018 amounted to EUR 0.976 per share, giving it a yield of 3.55%. Looking at the chart, you can see that the bottom seems to be behind us. Arbitragers have now exited and the remaining institutional investors appear to have overcome disappointment at the company’s failure to put the offer to shareholders. In conclusion, we have a company under pressure to significantly improve its results. It is trading at a very low price/earnings ratio, and has a decent yield with prospects of future growth to come. The icing on the cake would another bid. The upwards trend in the share price over the couple of weeks may indicate that good news is coming.
LSE:SWR
by Clive_Thompson
BID - Upward channel breakdown short from $47.83 to $37.33BID seems breaking down from long term upward channel. This seems interesting short setup. We would consider a short if it breaks below $47.83 We would also consider $48 October Puts, currently $1.33 * Trade Criteria * Date First Found- August 11, 2017 Pattern/Why- Long term upward channel Entry Target Criteria- Break of $47.83 Exit Target Criteria- $37.33 Stop Loss Criteria- $50.87 Please check back for Trade updates. (Note: Trade update is little delayed here.)
BShort
by AcornWealthCorp