Author: Craig MacAllister

How to Calculate Gains and Losses on Exercised Options

Options are a common topic on the Series 6, Series 7, Series 65, Series 66, and SIE exams. Read our guide to calculating gains and losses on exercised options. Continue reading

Options are a topic that many taking the Series 6, Series 7, Series 65, Series 66, and SIE exams have to deal with. One of the biggest problems that students have with options questions occurs when they are asked to calculate gains and losses on exercised options. As long as you understand a few basic points, these types of questions can be a breeze and definitely nothing to lose sleep over.  

First of all, let’s remind ourselves of what an option is.  An option is a contract between two parties that gives the buyer of the contract the right to buy or sell an underlying asset to the other party in the future for a specific price. The specific price is called the “exercise” or “strike” price.  The seller of the option, on the other hand, is obligated to buy or sell, at the strike price. The option to buy is a “call” option, the option to sell is a “put” option.   

To calculate gains and losses on exercised options, you first need to understand what is happening as a result of an options transaction.  When an option is exercised, that means its holder chooses to either buy or sell the underlying security at the strike price. With an exercised call option, the holder purchases shares of the underlying security from the options seller; with an exercised put option, the holder sells shares of the underlying security to the options seller. The sale in each case occurs at the option’s strike price.

Buying – Exercised Call Option

When a call options holder exercises her option by purchasing the underlying shares, she must add the cost of those shares to the premium she paid to obtain the option in the first place. This sum represents the option holder’s total money spent as a result of her options transaction. If the option holder then elects to sell the underlying securities she’s just purchased at their current market price, the money she receives from the sale will be money she takes in. To calculate her gain or loss, subtract the money she paid out from the money she took in. It’s as simple as that. 

So, if, for instance, Marie paid $200 in premiums to purchase a call option with a strike price of $20 and then exercised the option by purchasing 100 shares of the underlying stock, the money she spent as a result of her options transaction will be $2,200 ($200 premium paid + $2,000 purchase price for underlying securities). If she then sells those 100 shares at the market price of $25, she will receive $2,500 in sales proceeds. Subtracting the money she spent from the amount she received will result in a $300 gain ($2,500 sale proceeds – $2,000 purchase price – $200 premium paid = $300 gain.)

Buying – Exercised Put Option

In order for a put options holder to exercise his option, he must have 100 shares of the underlying security to sell to the options seller. That means he needs to go out in the market and purchase shares at their market price. The money he pays for those securities plus the premium he paid to purchase his put option in the first place represents money spent as a result of his options transaction. The options holder will then sell those 100 shares to the options seller at the strike price. When he does this, he receives the sale proceeds. Subtracting the money spent on the put from the sale proceeds will result in the put investor’s gain or loss.   

So, if, for instance, Pierre paid $300 in premiums to purchase a put option with a strike price of $30 and then purchases 100 shares of the underlying stock when its market price drops to $25, he will have spent $2,800 as a result of his options transaction ($300 premium + $2,500 purchase price for underlying shares). He will then sell those 100 shares to the options seller at their strike price of $30 and take in $3,000 from his sale. Thus, Pierre will make a total of $200 on his options transaction ($3,000 sale proceeds - $300 premium – $2,500 purchase price = $200 gain). 

Selling an Option

Now let’s look at gains or losses from the perspective of an options seller. Remember that when someone sells an option, he receives the premium from the options buyer. If the option expires unexercised, the seller gets to keep his entire premium received, which represents his maximum potential gain. If the option is exercised, he will either be required to sell shares of the underlying security to the option holder in the case of a call option or buy shares from the option holder in the case of a put option. Each of an exercised call or an exercised put option transaction is made at the option’s strike price.

Selling – Exercised Call Option

When a call option is exercised, the option seller must obtain 100 shares of the underlying stock to sell to the options holder. To do so, he will have to purchase the shares at their current market price, which will be higher than the option’s strike price. He will then sell them to the option holder at the strike price. The money he takes in from the sale is added to the premiums he received when shorting the option, and this totals the money he takes in as part of his options transaction. The money he paid to obtain the underlying securities is the money he pays out. Subtracting the money he pays out from the money he takes in results in his overall gain or loss.

For example, let’s say Michael sells a call option with a strike price of $50 and receives premiums totaling $500. If the option is exercised, and Mike purchases the underlying shares at $55, he will have paid out $5,500 as a result of his options transaction. At the same time, he will have received $5,500 ($500 premium + $5,000 strike price). Thus, Mike will break even on this transaction; money taken in will be equal to money paid out.

Buying – Exercised Put Option

When a put option is exercised, the option seller must purchase 100 shares of the underlying security from the options holder at the strike price. This represents money the options seller pays out. The options holder has already received the premium when she sold the option, and after purchasing the 100 shares, she can sell them for their current market price. The combination of the seller’s sale proceeds and the premium received represents money taken in. Subtracting money paid out from money taken in will result in the investor’s gain or loss. 

Let’s say Maribel shorts a put option and receives premiums totaling $400. The option has a strike price of $40, and the option holder exercises it when the underlying stock is trading at $35. This means Maribel is obligated to pay $4,000 total for the 100 underlying shares. This is money she pays out. She has already taken in $400, and if she chooses to sell the underlying stock at its current market price, she will take in an additional $3,500 in sales proceeds. This means she will receive a total of $3,900 from his options transaction ($3,500 sale proceeds + $400 premium) and paid out a total of $4,000. As a result, she has lost $100 on his options transaction ($3,900 money in – $4,000 money out = -$100).

As long as you understand what is occurring when an option is exercised, calculating gains and losses is as simple as comparing the money the investor takes in to the money she pays out. Calculating gains and losses on exercised options requires an understanding of the transaction and some simple math. Follow the guidance above and you will be able to correctly answer this type of question on your securities licensing exam.

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Tips for Answering Basic Series 7 Options Questions

Struggling with options questions on the FINRA Series 7 exam? Here are ten tips to getting basic Series 7 options questions right. Continue reading

Updated July 6, 2022

Options are a frequently tested topic on the FINRA Series 7 exam. While there are some difficult options questions that involve calculations and identifying different types of spreads, there are also several basic-type options questions. Remembering a few essential points will help you get these more basic questions correct on the exam. Let’s go through some options basics that could be tested on the Series 7 exam.

Good to Know Definitions:

Options Contract: A contract that allows the holder to buy or sell 100 shares of an underlying security at a given price by a given date.

Underlying (security) = refers to the security that must be delivered when an options contract is exercised 

Expiration Date: The last day an options contract may be freely exercised before it becomes void. The last day is always the third Friday of the month.

Exercise or Strike Price: The price at which an options holder may buy or sell an underlying security.

Premium: The price paid to an option writer for the right to exercise the option before it expires. 

Breakeven Point: The market price of an underlying stock at which the investor neither makes nor loses money

Premiums and Maximum Potential Gain and Maximum Potential Loss

One options topic that comes up often is maximum potential gain and maximum potential loss for different types of options. A concept related to maximum gain and maximum loss that’s easy to remember is that the premium received is the maximum potential gain for an option seller, while the premium paid is the maximum potential loss for an option buyer.

Why is that? Remember that when an investor opens a position by shorting an option, he takes in the premium from the sale. The best-case scenario for that investor is that the option expires unexercised. If that occurs, the investor doesn’t need to take any further action related to the option; he keeps the premium and doesn’t have to shell out money to anyone else.

Example:

If Tim shorts an ABC call option and receives $500 in premiums, his maximum potential gain is $500. He will achieve this gain if the option expires unexercised. In that case, he simply gets to keep the $500 he received when he shorted the option. The same is true for an investor who shorts a put option: he takes in the premium when the option is sold, and if the option expires unexercised, he gets to keep the premium.

On the other hand, an options buyer’s maximum potential loss is the premium paid, or the cost of the option. An option buyer pays the premium to the option seller to open her long options position. If she holds the option through expiration and it’s never exercised, she won’t receive any money from her option transaction. That means the premium paid represents sunk cost or loss on the investment.

Example:

If Sally purchases an XYZ put option and pays a premium of $600, her maximum potential loss is $600. She’ll realize this loss if the option expires unexercised and she holds it through expiration.

In the Money

Another topic that shows up on the Series 7 exam related to options is whether the option is “in the money.” When it comes to these questions, remember that an option is “in the money” when it’s advantageous for its owner to exercise the option. That means a call option is in the money when its underlying security is trading at a price that exceeds the option’s strike price. In that case, the option holder can exercise the option by purchasing the underlying at the strike price and then selling it at its higher market price.

On the other hand, a put option is in the money when its underlying security is trading at a price below the strike price. In that case, the option holder can purchase the underlying security at the market price and then sell it to the option seller assigned the exercised option at the higher strike price.

Note that the phrase “in the money” applies to a call option whose underlying is above the strike price and a put option whose underlying is below the strike price, even if the question is talking about a short options investor’s investment. That’s because the phrase “in the money” is a FINRA definition that applies to the option itself and not a particular position taken related to the option.

Breakeven Points

Breakeven points are another basic topic you should understand for the exam. The breakeven point is the amount that the underlying security needs to be trading at for both buyer and seller to break even on the investment when the option is exercised.

Example:

If Bobby is long a WTC call option with a $50 strike price and a $5 premium, his breakeven point would be $55 ($50 strike price + $5 premium). This means that when WTC is trading at $55, he could exercise his option by purchasing the underlying shares at $50. He could then sell those shares at the market price of $55. He would net $5 from his purchase and sale. However, since he paid $5 in premiums to buy the option, his $5 gain would be washed out by that $5 payment. Hence, he would breakeven on his investment.

The breakeven point for a put option is the option’s strike price minus its premium. If the underlying is trading at that value and the options holder exercises the option, both buyer and seller would breakeven on their investments.

Example:

If Jane is long an XYZ put option with a strike price of $40 and a premium of $4, her breakeven point would be $36 ($40 strike price – $4 premium). This means than when XYZ is trading at $36, she can purchase the underlying shares at that value and then exercise the option by selling them to the seller assigned her option for the $40 strike price. She would net $4 from her purchase and sale. However, since she paid $4 in premiums to buy the option, her $4 gain would be washed out by that $4 payment. Hence, she would breakeven on her investment.

Trading Options

An investor can exit his options position in one of two ways: he can exercise the option or he can trade the option.

Exercising the option involves either buying underlying shares at the strike price in a call option or selling the underlying shares at the strike price in a put option.

Trading an option involves taking the opposite position to an open position, thereby closing that open position. That means that someone who is long a call option can trade his option by shorting the same call, while an investor who is long a put option can trade his option by shorting the same put. Investors who have an open short options position (i.e., they shorted the option and it has yet to expire) can close out their position by purchasing the same option.

When an investor trades an option, gain or loss is calculated by subtracting the premium paid when going long the option from the premium received when shorting the option. If the difference is positive, the investor has a gain. If the difference is negative, the investor has a loss.

Example:

If Marie is long an END call option for which she paid $1,000 total in premiums and she decides to close out her position by shorting the same option, receiving $1,200 in premiums, she will realize a $200 gain ($1,200 received – $1,000 paid). Once she closes her position, she has no other obligation regarding the option because her short position is entered to close out a previous long position.

Note that traded options settle on the business day after the trade date.

Options Premiums

Knowing a bit about options premiums is also important for the Series 7 exam. Remember the premium is the amount an investor pays to go long an option or receives when shorting an option. An option’s premium is essentially its market price.

The premium is made up of two components: intrinsic value and time value. A premium’s intrinsic value is the amount by which the option is in the money. So for a call option, the intrinsic value is the amount that the underlying security’s price is above the strike price.

For a put option, the intrinsic value is the amount that the underlying security’s price is below the strike price. For instance, the premium for a put option with a strike price of $20 and an underlying security trading at $17 would have $3 in intrinsic value.

It’s also important to note that an option premium’s intrinsic value can never be a negative number. If the option is out of the money, its intrinsic value will be 0. So, for instance, if an ABC call option has a strike price of 50 and ABC is trading at 45, the option premium’s intrinsic value would be 0; it would not be -5.

A premium’s time value is the difference between its total amount and the intrinsic value. So time value = premium – intrinsic value. That means an option with a premium of $10 that is in the money by $6 will have a time value of $4 ($10 premium – $6 intrinsic value = $4 time value). Time value typically decreases the closer an option is to its expiration date.

American vs. European Options

Options can be either American-style or European-style. Equity options are American-style options. This means they can be executed at any point prior to or on their expiration date. The expiration date for monthly equity options is the third Friday of the month in which the option expires.

Non-equity options, such as index options, are often European-style options. This means they can only be executed on the expiration date. It is important to remember, however, that either European- or American-style options can be traded on the secondary market at any time before expiration.

Series 7 exam options questions tips

If you keep these basics in mind, you should be able to answer many of the options questions that show up on the Series 7 exam correctly. Understanding the points described above will also help you have a better understanding of some of the concepts tested by the more difficult options questions that appear on the exam.

If you’re preparing for the Series 7 exam, explore Solomon Exam Prep Series 7 study materials. Solomon offers a Series 7 Study Guide, Exam Simulator, Video Lecture, Audiobook, Flashcards, and Live Web Classes to help you pass.