Ratio spread

In finance, a put or put option is a financial market derivative instrument that gives the holder the right to sell an asset, at a specified price, by a specified date to the writer of the put. The purchase of a put option is interpreted as a negative sentiment about the future value of the underlying stock. The term "put" comes from the fact that the owner has the right to "put up for sale" the stock or index.

In finance, a straddle strategy involves two transactions in options on the same underlying, with opposite positions. One holds long risk, the other short. As a result, it involves the purchase or sale of particular option derivatives that allow the holder to profit based on how much the price of the underlying security moves, regardless of the direction of price movement.

In finance, risk reversal can refer to a measure of the volatility skew or to a trading strategy.

In finance, volatility arbitrage is a term for financial arbitrage techniques directly dependent and based on volatility.

In finance, a calendar spread is a spread trade involving the simultaneous purchase of futures or options expiring on a particular date and the sale of the same instrument expiring on another date. These individual purchases, known as the legs of the spread, vary only in expiration date; they are based on the same underlying market and strike price.

The iron condor is an option trading strategy utilizing two vertical spreads – a put spread and a call spread with the same expiration and four different strikes. A long iron condor is essentially selling both sides of the underlying instrument by simultaneously shorting the same number of calls and puts, then covering each position with the purchase of further out of the money call(s) and put(s) respectively. The converse produces a short iron condor.

In options trading, a bull spread is a bullish, vertical spread options strategy that is designed to profit from a moderate rise in the price of the underlying security.

In options trading, a bear spread is a bearish, vertical spread options strategy that can be used when the options trader is moderately bearish on the underlying security.

In finance an iron butterfly, also known as the ironfly, is the name of an advanced, neutral-outlook, options trading strategy that involves buying and holding four different options at three different strike prices. It is a limited-risk, limited-profit trading strategy that is structured for a larger probability of earning smaller limited profit when the underlying stock is perceived to have a low volatility.

Option strategies are the simultaneous, and often mixed, buying or selling of one or more options that differ in one or more of the options' variables. Call options, simply known as Calls, give the buyer a right to buy a particular stock at that option's strike price. Opposite to that are Put options, simply known as Puts, which give the buyer the right to sell a particular stock at the option's strike price. This is often done to gain exposure to a specific type of opportunity or risk while eliminating other risks as part of a trading strategy. A very straightforward strategy might simply be the buying or selling of a single option; however, option strategies often refer to a combination of simultaneous buying and or selling of options.

The backspread is the converse strategy to the ratio spread and is also known as reverse ratio spread. Using calls, a bullish strategy known as the call backspread can be constructed and with puts, a strategy known as the put backspread can be constructed.

Pin risk occurs when the market price of the underlier of an option contract at the time of the contract's expiration is close to the option's strike price. In this situation, the underlier is said to have pinned. The risk to the writer (seller) of the option is that they cannot predict with certainty whether the option will be exercised or not. So the writer cannot hedge their position precisely and may end up with a loss or gain. There is a chance that the price of the underlier may move adversely, resulting in an unanticipated loss to the writer. In other words, an option position may result in a large, undesired risky position in the underlier immediately after expiration, regardless of the actions of the writer.

In finance, a strangle is a trading strategy involving the purchase or sale of two options, allowing the holder to profit based on how much the price of the underlying security moves, with minimal exposure to the direction of price movement. A strangle consists of one call and one put with the same expiry and underlying but different strike prices. Typically the call has a higher strike price than the put. If the put has a higher strike price instead, the position is sometimes called a guts.

In options trading, a jade lizard is a custom option strategy which consists of a bear vertical spread created using call options, with the addition of a put option sold at a strike price lower than the strike prices of the call spread. For one underlying security, same expiration date, this strategy consists of buying a call option at one strike price, selling another call option at a lower strike price, then selling an OTM put option at a strike price lower than that of both call options. The addition of the sale of a put option is consistent with the expected move of the underlying and results in additional premium collected. The jade lizard strategy takes advantage of the volatility skew inherently priced into options with naked puts trading richer in premium than naked calls and short call spreads trading richer in premium than short put spreads. This volatility skew effect allows the trader to collect more premium for the overall position and thus, increasing the position's probability of profit. The term "jade lizard" was first used by former CBOE floor traders, Liz Dierking and Jenny Andrews, on the Liz & Jny Show on the Tastytrade Network.