What is a cash-settled option?

Adjustments may be made to some of the standardized terms of outstanding options upon the occurrence of certain events related to the underlying security. The determination of whether to adjust outstanding options in response to a particular event, and, if so, what the adjustment should be, is made by OCC, taking into consideration policies established…

DTE means Days To Expiration. This is basically the number of days left until your Option contracts expire.  As an options trader you will want to play very close attention to the DTE when you are selecting which contract to buy or sell. The number of days to expiration can impact the profitability of a…

These are Option contracts that have intrinsic value. A call option is ITM if the market price of the underlying asset is greater than the strike price of the option. A put is ITM if the price of the underlying asset is less than the strike price. In the image below, “A” marks the In…

There are some options settle for cash rather than shares. Indexes like the S&P 500 Index (.SPX) and the S&P 100 Index (.OEX) are examples of cash settled options.

What is an Option Sweep? An option sweep is basically when a big trader breaks up a large order into small individual trades. This is usually done in order to get filled fast or to conceal a large order.  The common thinking is that a sweep usually means a big trader knows something and is…

A capped option will be automatically exercised prior to expiration if the options market on which the option is trading determines that the value of the underlying interest at a specified time on a trading day “hits the cap price” for the option. Capped options may also be exercised, like European-style options, during a specified…