1. The condition of a call option when its strike price is higher than the market price of the underlying stock. 2. The condition of a put option when its strike price is lower than the market price of the underlying stock. Also known as "out of the money." An underwater option would be worthless if it expired today.
1. In derivatives, the security that must be delivered when a derivative contract, such as a put or call option, is exercised. 2. In equities, the common stock that must be delivered when a warrant is exercised, or when a convertible bond or convertible preferred share is converted to common stock. The price of the underlying is the main factor that determines prices of derivative securities, warrants and convertibles. Thus, a change in an underlying results in a simultaneous change in the price of the derivative asset that is linked to it. In most cases, the underlying is a security such as a stock (in the case of options) or a commodity (in the case of futures).
An underlying option security is the financial instrument on which a derivative's (i.e., an option's) value is based – it provides the price that is used to determine the value of the derivative. An option is classified as a derivative because its value is derived from the underlying security. An option holder has the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a particular instrument at a specified price and date in the future.
A slang term used to describe a situation in which a company's executives accelerate the vesting of their employee stock options. Usually, accelerated vesting is preceded by a period of excessively high employee stock option grants. The result of vest fleecing is that shareholders' ownership is reduced, and option holders are able to turn their options into stock in a shorter time period than if they had not accelerated vesting. A vest fleece results in option holders being given an increased share of ownership in their employers' companies.This term was coined by Jack Ciesielski, founder of The Analyst's Accounting Observer.
An options trading strategy with which a trader makes a simultaneous purchase and sale of two options of the same type that have the same expiration dates but different strike prices. Profits are determined by the widening or narrowing of the difference between the option premiums on the two positions.
The amount that the price of an option changes compared to a 1% change in volatility. Vega changes when there are large price movements in the underlying asset and vega falls as the option gets closer to maturity. Vega can change even if there is no change in the price of the underlying asset, this would happen if there is a change in expected volatility. For example, if the vega of an option is -96.94 and if implied volatility were to rise by 1% then the option value would fall by $96.94.
1. A statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index. Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security.2. A variable in option pricing formulas showing the extent to which the return of the underlying asset will fluctuate between now and the option's expiration. Volatility, as expressed as a percentage coefficient within option-pricing formulas, arises from daily trading activities. How volatility is measured will affect the value of the coefficient used. In other words, volatility refers to the amount of uncertainty or risk about the size of changes in a security's value. A higher volatility means that a security's value can potentially be spread out over a larger range of values. This means that the price of the security can change dramatically over a short time period in either direction. A lower volatility means that a security's value does not fluctuate dramatically, but changes in value at a steady pace over a period of time.One measure of the relative volatility of a particular stock to the market is its beta. A beta approximates the overall volatility of a security's returns against the returns of a relevant benchmark (usually the S&P 500 is used). For example, a stock with a beta value of 1.1 has historically moved 110% for every 100% move in the benchmark, based on price level. Conversely, a stock with a beta of .9 has historically moved 90% for every 100% move in the underlying index.
A derivative security that gives the holder the right to purchase securities (usually equity) from the issuer at a specific price within a certain time frame. Warrants are often included in a new debt issue as a "sweetener" to entice investors. The main difference between warrants and call options is that warrants are issued and guaranteed by the company, whereas options are exchange instruments and are not issued by the company. Also, the lifetime of a warrant is often measured in years, while the lifetime of a typical option is measured in months.