The options calculators are tools that can be used to understand options pricing and cycle availability. There are three different calculators available: Basic, Advanced, and Cycles.
The Basic and Advanced Calculators
The Basic and Advanced calculators use a pricing model which takes into account a variety of factors to return the “theoretical value” and “The Greeks” for an option. These calculations can be helpful in understanding how the price of the underlying stock, volatility, and other changes can influence the valuation of an option.
The inputs required to use the Basic and Advanced calculators include: underlying price, strike price, expiration date, volatility, interest rate and dividends.
The Basic calculator takes a step-by-step approach of describing and collecting each of the factors used in the pricing model. The Advanced calculator allows you to input all the factors at once. When making changes to the Advanced Calculator, you can immediately see how the changes affect delta, gamma, and the other Greeks.
For more details on the Basic and Advanced calculators, please launch the calculators and see the link entitled "About this calculator".
The Cycles Calculator
Options are not available for every expiration month in the year at any given time. Each underlying security's options are given one of three "cycles" that determine a pattern of future months that will have options available. The three cycles' nicknames are based on the first letter of their available months:
The Cycles calculator returns the options months and expiration dates associated with the cycle you select. The options calculators are provided by the Options Industry Council.
Please note: Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Before investing in options, please read the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options.
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The Position Simulator lets you experiment with options under simulated market conditions. See how different factors such as underlying stock price, volatility, and closeness to expiration can affect the value of your options holdings.
For more help on how the Position Simulator works, please read this document on Strategy Explorer and Simulator Help.
The options Position Simulator is provided by the Options Industry Council.
Securities products are offered by ShareBuilder Securities Corporation, a registered broker-dealer and Member FINRA/SIPC. ShareBuilder Securities Corporation is a subsidiary of ING Bank, fsb. Brokerage Financial Statement