A call option, often simply labeled a "call", is a contract, between the buyer and the seller of the call option, to exchange a security at a set price. 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 from the seller of the option at a certain time for a certain price. The seller is obligated to sell the commodity or financial instrument to the buyer if the buyer so decides. The buyer pays a fee 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 estimated time value — thought of as the likelihood of the call finishing in-the-money and the intrinsic value of the option, defined as the difference between the strike price and the market value multiplied by 100. The callcontract price generally will be higher when the contract has more time to expire and when the underlying financial instrument shows more volatility. Determining this value is one of the central functions of financial mathematics. The most common method used is the Black–Scholes formula. Importantly, the Black-Scholes formula provides an estimate of the price of European-style options. Whatever the formula used, the buyer and seller must agree on the initial value, otherwise the exchange of the call will not take place. Adjustment to Call Option: When a call has the strike price above the break even limit, i.e. when the buyer is making profit, there are many avenues to explore. Some of them are as follows:
Sell the call and book profit.
Continue to hold the position, if there is hope of making more money.
Buy a protective "put" of the strike that suits, If there is interest in holding the position but at the same time, having some protection.
Sell a call of higher strike price and convert the position into "call spread" and thus limiting loss if the market reverses.
Similarly, if the buyer is making loss on his position i.e. the call is out-of-the-money, the buyer can make several adjustments to limit his loss or even make some profit.
Call option profit / loss chart
Trading options involves a constant monitoring of the option value, which is affected by the following factors:
Time decay – as time goes by, options become cheaper and cheaper.
Moreover, the dependence of the option value to price, volatility and time is not linear – which makes the analysis even more complex. One very useful way to analyze and track the value of an option position is by drawing a Profit / Loss chart that shows how the option value changes with changes in the base asset price and other factors. For example, this Profit / Loss chart shows the profit / loss of a call option position purchased at a price of $3,5 :
