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In finance, a call option, often simply labeled a "call", is a
contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...
between the buyer and the seller of the call option to exchange a
security" \n\n\nsecurity.txt is a proposed standard for websites' security information that is meant to allow security researchers to easily report security vulnerabilities. The standard prescribes a text file called \"security.txt\" in the well known locat ...
at a set
price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in the ...
. The buyer of the call option has the right, but not the obligation, to buy an agreed quantity of a particular commodity or financial instrument (the
underlying In finance, a derivative is a contract that ''derives'' its value from the performance of an underlying entity. This underlying entity can be an asset, index, or interest rate, and is often simply called the "underlying". Derivatives can be use ...
) from the seller of the option at a certain time (the expiration date) for a certain price (the
strike price In finance, the strike price (or exercise price) of an option is a fixed price at which the owner of the option can buy (in the case of a call), or sell (in the case of a put), the underlying security or commodity. The strike price may be set ...
). This effectively gives the owner a ''long'' position in the given asset. The seller (or "writer") is obliged to sell the commodity or financial instrument to the buyer if the buyer so decides. This effectively gives the seller a ''short'' position in the given asset. The buyer pays a fee (called a premium) for this right. The term "call" comes from the fact that the owner has the right to "call the stock away" from the seller.


Price of options

Option values vary with the value of the underlying instrument over time. The price of the call contract must act as a proxy response for the valuation of: * the expected intrinsic value of the option, defined as the expected value of the difference between the strike price and the market value, i.e., max −X, 0 * the
risk premium A risk premium is a measure of excess return that is required by an individual to compensate being subjected to an increased level of risk. It is used widely in finance and economics, the general definition being the expected risky return less t ...
to compensate for the unpredictability of the value * the
time value of money The time value of money is the widely accepted conjecture that there is greater benefit to receiving a sum of money now rather than an identical sum later. It may be seen as an implication of the later-developed concept of time preference. The ...
reflecting the delay to the payout time The call contract price generally will be higher when the contract has more time to expire (except in cases when a significant
dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-i ...
is present) and when the underlying financial instrument shows more volatility. Determining this value is one of the central functions of
financial mathematics Mathematical finance, also known as quantitative finance and financial mathematics, is a field of applied mathematics, concerned with mathematical modeling of financial markets. In general, there exist two separate branches of finance that require ...
. The most common method used is the Black–Scholes formula, which provides an estimate of the price of European-style options.


See also

*
Covered call A covered option is a financial transaction in which the holder of securities sells (or "writes") a type of financial options contract known as a "call" or a " put" against stock that they own or are shorting. The seller of a covered option rece ...
*
Moneyness In finance, moneyness is the relative position of the current price (or future price) of an underlying asset (e.g., a stock) with respect to the strike price of a derivative, most commonly a call option or a put option. Moneyness is firstly a thr ...
* Naked call *
Naked put A naked option or uncovered option is an options contract where the option writer (i.e., the seller) does not hold the underlying security position to cover the contract in case of assignment (like in a covered option). Nor does the seller hold ...
*
Option time value In finance, the time value (TV) (''extrinsic'' or ''instrumental'' value) of an option is the premium a rational investor would pay over its ''current'' exercise value ( intrinsic value), based on the probability it will increase in value before ex ...
* Pre-emption right * Put option *
Put–call parity In financial mathematics, put–call parity defines a relationship between the price of a European call option and European put option, both with the identical strike price and expiry, namely that a portfolio of a long call option and a short pu ...
*
Right of first refusal Right of first refusal (ROFR or RFR) is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transactio ...


References

{{Derivatives market Options (finance)