Financial Markets For The Rest Of Us An Easy Guide To Money, Bonds, Futures, Stocks, Options, And Mutual Funds |
Page 275 Underlying Interest - The stock (or index) that the option is based
on. For simplicity, standardized options are referred to as just options, and we will also follow this convention. When you look up a quote for a certain option there are several specifications to consider. Among them are: Option Symbol - Just like stocks, options also have symbols associated with them. The symbol is normally a combination of the stock symbol (or abbreviation thereof), a certain code for their expiration month (e.g., A or M for January call or put, B or N for February call or put, and so on), and a certain code for their strike price (e.g. A for $5, $105, $205, $305, etc., O for $75, $175, $275, etc., and so on). For example, if GE stock is currently trading at $50, GEAO signifies a General Electric call option expiring in January with a strike price of $75. There are always exceptions to this rule however. For example, for a highly volatile stock which may swing more than $100 in a given period new codes are added to handle the $100 boundaries as well to distinguish strike prices of, for example, $50, $150, and $250. … |
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