If you’re a seasoned options trader and you’d like to make a profit off of a stock that will stay within a price range in the near term, consider using an iron butterfly strategy. You really need to know what you’re doing, though. An iron butterfly involves four trades. It’s… Read More

How much does an option change in value as its underlying stock price moves one way or the other? The answer to that is the delta calculation. Delta is one of “the Greeks.” Those are statistical values that give you important info about options. Other Greeks include theta, vega,… Read More

How would you like to profit from a stock that moves significantly in either direction? If so, then consider the long strangle strategy. The key here is that you need large movement in the underlying stock for the trade to be profitable. It doesn’t matter which way the stock moves,… Read More

How would you like to earn a significant return off of a stock that drops in value or stays the same? If so, then consider the naked call strategy. A naked call, or a short call, involves selling an option when you don’t own either the option or the underlying… Read More

How would you like to earn a significant return off of a stock that increases in value or stays the same? If so, then consider the naked put strategy. A naked put, or a short put, involves selling a put option when you don’t have a short position in the… Read More

How would you like to take advantage of the long-term investment benefits offered by stocks at a reduced price tag? If so, then consider investing in LEAP options. LEAP options (or LEAPs) are option contracts that expire at least one year from the date of purchase. The acronym LEAP stands… Read More

How would you like to earn a positive return if you think a stock is going to stay flat or swing wildly in either direction over the short term? If so, then you should check out the butterfly spread. A butterfly spread is a multi-leg options strategy that involves… Read More

Before you buy or sell an option, you need to know its strike price. The strike price is the price at which the option can be exercised. Both call options and put options have a strike price. If you buy a call option, then you want the price of the… Read More

If you’re interested in trading a complex options strategy, such as a bear call spread, iron condor, or a collar, then you’ll want to place multi-leg orders. Why? Because if you try to enter your orders one at a time, you could end up losing money. It’s… Read More

As an options contract gets closer to expiration, it naturally decreases in value. That rate of decrease is called theta. Theta is one of “the Greeks,” or statistical values identified by Greek letters that traders use to evaluate stock options. Other Greeks include: Delta – the option’s sensitivity to the… Read More