Short
Call
When
to use
If
you firmly believe the market is not going up. Sell out-of-the-money
(higher strike) options if you are only somewhat convinced; sell
at-the-money option if you are very confident the market will stagnate
or fall. If you doubt the market will stagnate, sell
in-the-money options for maximum profit.
Profit
Characteristics
Profit limited to premium received. At expiration,
break-even is exercise price A + premium received. Maximum
profit realized if market settles at or below A.
Loss
Characteristics
Loss increases as market rises. At expiration,
losses increase by one point for each point market is above break-even.
Because risk is open-ended, position must be watched closely.
Decay
Characteristics
Positions are a growing asset. As time passes,
value of position increases as option loses its time value.
Maximum rate of increasing profits occurs if the option is at-the-money.
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