Cash Settlement

A covered call is executed when you buy the underlying stock/shares and then sell Calls against it. The trade is considered covered because the shares will cover what is now a short Call position. So this means the shorting/sale of the Calls was not “naked”. This method can be used to generate income using stock…

The Intrinsic Value is basically the value of an in-the-money option minus its time value. Intrinsic value is the current real tangible value of the options contract. The intrinsic value of a call option is calculated by subtracting the strike price of the Option from the underlying stock. For a put, intrinsic value is the…

This is an order that you would place to offset an existing long position. For example, If you buy a call option to open a new position, you would then need to offset or close that position with a closing order. This is an order to sell-to-close.

Combination positions are positions in more than one option at the same time. Spreads and straddles are two types of combination positions. A spread involves being both the buyer and writer of the same type of option (puts or calls) on the same underlying interest, with the options having different exercise prices and/or expiration dates….

This is a spread  where the premium received from selling part of the spread is greater than the premium paid for the other part of the spread. For instance, if you sold the AAPL 140.00 Calls @ 4.00 and bought the AAPL 142.00 Calls for 2.00 you have a credit of 2.00. See also Bear…

Options with intrinsic value, or in-the-money options, are automatically exercised at expiration so that option holders don’t inadvertently leave money on the table. Since June 2008 , all options that are a penny or more in-the-money at expiration are exercised at expiration.