Each contract represents 100 shares of the underlying stock. Investors don't have to own the underlying stock to buy or sell a call. If you think the market price of the underlying stock will rise, you can consider buying a call option compared to buying the stock outright.
A covered call is a basic options strategy that involves selling a call option (or “going short,” as the pros call it) for every 100 shares of the underlying stock that you own. It's a relatively simple options trade to set up, and it generates some income from a stock position.
Writing a covered call means you're selling someone else the right to purchase a stock that you already own, at a specific price, within a specified time frame. Because one option contract usually represents 100 shares, to run this strategy, you must own at least 100 shares for every call contract you plan to sell.
Yes you can sell options without enough purchasing power to buy 100 actual shares of them. What you can't do is exercise options because that is where you actually exercise your right to buy the the shares at your strike price.
Trading size less than 100 shares is termed as 'Odd Lot'. 'Odd Lot' refers to non-standard numbers of shares that arise from stock splits or bonus or rights issues. For example: A one-for-five bonus issue means the holder of 100 shares will receive 20 bonus shares.
A naked or uncovered call is when you sell a call option without owning the underlying security or some equivalent. The seller (writer) of the call gets immediate premium income from the option's buyer and will collect the full amount if the option expires out of the money.
On the negative side, premiums are limited, which limits profit potential. You can miss out on a huge upward movement in the underlying stock because you can't sell it without buying back the contract. Worst of all, your losses could be limitless depending on the sort of call option you sell.
Can I sell a call option early? Yes – call option buyers can close the position at any time by selling the contract for the market value. This is a popular choice, as many traders just speculate on the call option price itself, rather than converting the call option into shares of stock.
Stocks are most commonly sold in round lots, or lots of 100 shares or more. A lot of less than 100 shares is called an odd lot; odd lot transactions generally have greater commission costs associated with them. Financial professionals advise having enough money to buy a round lot of shares in one company.
Covered calls are best done in a neutral or slightly bullish market environment where you expect the stock price to stay relatively stable or rise modestly. In these scenarios, the premium collected from selling the call option provides added income while the risk of the option being exercised remains moderate.
A put option is a derivative contract that lets the owner sell 100 shares of a particular underlying asset at a predetermined price (known as the strike price) on or before the expiration date.
At Robinhood, you must already own 100 shares of the underlying stock or ETF to sell a call. In options trading, short describes selling to open, or writing an option. Selling a call obligates you to sell 100 shares of the underlying at the strike price, if assigned.
A share denotes your ownership interest or how much of the corporation you own. For example, if you own 100 shares of a corporation that has issued 1,000 shares, your ownership in the corporation is 10 percent. Similarly, if you hold all the 1,000 shares, you own 100 percent of the corporation.
Limited Upside Potential
The biggest downside to selling covered calls actually isn't a risk in the sense that you could face losses – it's opportunity cost. Call options are binding contracts that require you to sell your shares at a predetermined price should the buyer choose.
A stock occasionally pays a big dividend and exercising a call option to capture the dividend may be worthwhile. Or you may not be able to sell it at fair value if you own an option that's deep in the money. It may be preferable to exercise the option to buy or sell the stock if bids are too low.
If I don't exercise my call option, what will happen? With an options contract, you are not obligated to take any action. If the contract is not fulfilled by the due date, it automatically terminates. Any option premium you paid will be returned to the vendor.
Options contracts are typically for 100 shares of the underlying security. Let's look at some examples.
While selling a call seems like it's low risk – and it often is – it can be one of the most dangerous options strategies because of the potential for uncapped losses if the stock soars.
Sellers of covered call options are obligated to deliver shares to the purchaser if they decide to exercise the option. The maximum loss on a covered call strategy is limited to the price paid for the asset, minus the option premium received.
The covered call strategy requires two steps. First, you already own the stock. It needn't be in 100 share blocks, but it will need to be at least 100 shares. You will then sell, or write, one call option for each multiple of 100 shares: 100 shares = 1 call or 200 shares = 2 calls.
Example of a Covered Call Options Strategy
Scenario: An investor buys or has 100 shares of stock and sells one call option for each 100 shares.
Short selling is essentially a buy or sell transaction in reverse. An investor wanting to sell shares borrows them from a broker, who sells the shares from the inventory on behalf of the person seeking to sell short. Once the shares are sold, the money from the sale is credited to the account of the short seller.