Bull Call Spread

What Is a Bull Call Spread?

A bull call spread is an options trading strategy intended to benefit from a stock's limited increase in price. The strategy utilizes two call options to make a reach comprising of a lower strike price and an upper strike price. The bullish call spread assists with limiting losses of possessing stock, yet it additionally covers the gains.

Understanding a Bull Call Spread

The bull call spread comprises of the accompanying steps including two call options.

1. Pick the asset you accept will experience a slight appreciation over a set period of time (days, weeks, or months).
2. Buy a call option for a strike price over the current market with a specific expiration date and pay the premium.
3. All the while, sell a call option at a higher strike price that has a similar expiration date as the principal call option, and collect the premium.

The premium received by selling the call option to some extent offsets the premium the investor paid for buying the call. In practice, investor debt is the net difference between the two call options, which is the cost of the strategy.

The bull call spread decreases the cost of the call option, however it accompanies a trade-off. The gains in the stock's price are likewise capped, making a limited reach where the investor can create a gain. Traders will utilize the bull call spread in the event that they accept an asset will moderately rise in value. Most frequently, during times of high volatility, they will utilize this strategy.

The losses and gains from the bull call spread are limited due to the lower and upper strike prices. In the event that at expiry, the stock price declines below the lower strike price — the first, purchased call option — the investor doesn't exercise the option. The option strategy lapses worthlessly, and the investor loses the net premium paid at the onset. Assuming they exercise the option, they would need to pay more — the chose strike price — for an asset that is currently trading for less.

On the off chance that at expiry, the stock price has risen and is trading over the upper strike price — the second, sold call option — the investor exercises their most memorable option with the lower strike price. Presently, they might purchase the shares for not exactly the current market value.

Nonetheless, the second, sold call option is as yet active. The options marketplace will automatically exercise or assign this call option. The investor will sell the shares bought with the first, lower strike option for the higher, second strike price. Accordingly, the gains earned from buying with the principal call option are capped at the strike price of the sold option. The profit is the difference between the lower strike price and upper strike price minus, of course, the net cost or premium paid at the onset.

With a bull call spread, the losses are limited diminishing the risk implied since the investor can lose the net cost to make the spread. Notwithstanding, the downside to the strategy is that the gains are limited also.

Wares, bonds, stocks, currencies, and different assets form the underlying holdings for call options. Call options can be utilized by investors to benefit from up moves in an asset's price. On the off chance that exercised before the expiration date, these options permit the investor to buy the asset at a stated price — the strike price. The option doesn't need the holder to purchase the asset in the event that they decide not to. For instance, traders who accept a specific stock is good at a vertical cost movement will utilize call options.

The bullish investor would pay an upfront fee — the premium — for the call option. Premiums base their price on the spread between the stock's current market price and the strike price. Assuming the option's strike price is close to the stock's current market price, the premium will probably be costly. The strike price is the price at which the option gets changed over completely to the stock at expiry.

Should the underlying asset fall to not exactly the strike price, the holder won't buy the stock yet will lose the value of the premium at expiration. Assuming the share price moves over the strike price the holder might choose to purchase shares costing that much yet are under no obligation to do as such. Again, in this scenario, the holder would be out the price of the premium.

A costly premium could settle on a decision option not worth buying since the stock's price would need to move fundamentally higher to offset the premium paid. Called the break-even point (BEP), this is the price equivalent to the strike price plus the premium fee.

The broker will charge a fee for putting an options trade and this expense factors into the overall cost of the trade. Additionally, options contracts are priced by heaps of 100 shares. Thus, buying one contract likens to 100 shares of the underlying asset.

A bull call spread can limit your losses, yet additionally covers your gains.

Bull Call Spread Example

An options trader buys 1 Citigroup (C) June 21 call at the $50 strike price and pays $2 per contract when Citigroup is trading at $49 per share.

Simultaneously, the trader sells 1 Citi June 21 call at the $60 strike price and gets $1 per contract. Since the trader paid $2 and received $1, the trader's net cost to make the spread is $1.00 per contract or $100. ($2 long call premium minus $1 short call profit = $1 duplicated by 100 contract size = $100 net cost plus, your broker's commission fee)

In the event that the stock falls below $50, the two options terminate worthlessly, and the trader loses the premium paid of $100 or the net cost of $1 per contract.

Should the stock increase to $61, the value of the $50 call would rise to $10, and the value of the $60 call would stay at $1. In any case, any further gains in the $50 call are forfeited, and the trader's profit on the two call options would be $9 ($10 gain - $1 net cost). The total profit would be $900 (or $9 x 100 shares).

To put it another way, if the stock tumbled to $30, the maximum loss would be just $1.00, however assuming the stock soared to $100, the maximum gain would be $9 for the strategy.

Highlights

• The strategy utilizes two call options to make a reach comprising of a lower strike price and an upper strike price.
• The bullish call spread can limit the losses of claiming stock, however it likewise covers the gains.
• A bull call spread is an options strategy utilized when a trader is betting that a stock will have a limited increase in its price.

FAQ

How Might a Bull Call Spread Benefit You?

With a bull call spread, the losses are limited, lessening the risk implied, since the investor can lose the net cost to make the spread. The net cost is likewise lower as the premium collected from selling the call assists with settling the cost of the premium paid to buy the call. Traders will utilize the bull call spread assuming they accept an asset will rise in value adequately just to justify practicing the long call however insufficient to where the short call can be exercised.

How Is a Bull Call Spread Implemented?

To execute a bull call spread includes picking the asset that is probably going to experience a slight appreciation over a set period of time (days, weeks, or months). The next step is to buy a call option for a strike price over the current market with a specific expiration date while at the same time selling a call option at a higher strike price that has a similar expiration date as the primary call option. The net difference between the premium received for selling the call and the premium paid for buying the call is the cost of the strategy.

How Does the Underlying Asset Affect a Bull Call Spread's Premium?

Since the bull call spread is executed on the reason of an unassuming appreciation in the underlying asset's price, it makes sense that its premium will mirror that of the asset's price, in a measured way. Basically, a bull call spread's delta, which compares the change in the underlying asset's price to the change in the option's premium, is net positive. Notwithstanding, its gamma, which measures the rate of change of delta, is extremely close to zero which means that there is next to no change in the bull call spread's premiums as the underlying asset's price changes.