Options
Options carry different risks depending on their type (Call/Put) and how they're traded (held/writen). Let's take a look at the different risk profiles for each possible operation:
Call holders: If you buy a call, you are buying the right to purchase the stock at a specific price. The upside potential is unlimited, and the downside potential is the premium that you spent. You want the price to go up a lot so that you can buy it at a lower price.
Put holders: If you buy a put, you are buying the right to sell a stock at a specific price. The upside potential is the difference between the share prices (suppose you buy the right to sell at $5 per share and it drops to $3 per share). The downside potential is the premium that you spent. You want the price to go down a lot so you can sell it at a higher price.
Call writers: If you sell a call, you are selling the right to purchase to someone else. The upside potential is the premium for the option; the downside potential is unlimited. You want the price to stay about the same (or even drop a little) so that whoever buys your call doesn’t exercise the option and force you to sell.
Put writers: If you sell a put, you are selling the right to sell to someone else. The upside potential is the premium for the option, the downside potential is the amount the stock is worth. You want the price to stay above the strike price so that the buyer doesn’t force you to sell at a higher price than the stock is worth.
To simplify further, if you buy an option, your downside potential is the premium that you spent on the option. If you sell a call there is unlimited downside potential; if you sell a put, the downside potential is limited to the value of the underlying asset.
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