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Option

Gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset at a set price on or before a given date. Investors, not companies, issue options. Buyers of call options bet that a stock will be worth more than the price set by the option (the strike price), plus the price they pay for the option itself. Buyers of put options bet that the stock's price will drop below the price set by the option. An option is part of a class of securities called derivatives, which means these securities derive their value from the worth of an underlying investment.

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option

1. A contract that permits the owner, depending on the type of option held, to purchase or sell an asset at a fixed price until a specific date. An option to purchase an asset is a call and an option to sell an asset is a put. Depending on how an investor uses options, the risks can be quite high. Investors in options must be correct on timing as well as on valuation of the underlying asset to be successful. See also Asian option, chooser option, combination option, conventional option, European option, exercise price, exotic option, expiration date, knock-out option, lapsed option, long-term equity anticipation securities, restricted option, stock option.

2. See incentive stock option.

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Option. Buying an option gives you the right to buy or sell a specific financial instrument at a specific price, called the strike price, during a preset period of time.

In the United States, you can buy or sell listed options on individual stocks, stock indexes, futures contracts, currencies, and debt securities.

If you buy an option to buy, which is known as a call, you pay a one-time premium that's a fraction of the cost of buying the underlying instrument.

For example, when a particular stock is trading at $75 a share, you might buy a call option giving you the right to buy 100 shares of that stock at a strike price of $80 a share. If the price goes higher than the strike price, you can exercise the option and buy the stock at the strike price, or sell the option, potentially at a net profit.

If the stock price doesn't go higher than the strike price before the option expires, you don't exercise. Your only cost is the money that you paid for the premium.

Similarly, you may buy a put option, which gives you the right to sell the underlying instrument at the strike price. In this case, you may exercise the option or sell it at a potential profit if the market price drops below the strike price.

In contrast, if you sell a put or call option, you collect a premium and must be prepared to deliver (in the case of a call) or purchase (in the case of a put) the underlying instrument. That will happen if the investor who holds the option decides to exercise it and you're assigned to fulfill the obligation. To neutralize your obligation to fulfill the terms of the contract before an option you sold is exercised, you may choose to buy an offsetting option.

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Option

An agreement to buy or sell property on or before a specified date at an established price. The sale or exchange of an option to buy or sell property results in capital gain or loss if the property is a capital asset.