• A call is an option contract that gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy a certain amount of the underlying security at a certain price for a certain time.

  • The indicated price is known as the strike price and the indicated time during which the sale can be made is the expiration or time to maturity.
  • You pay a commission for buying a call option, called a premium; this share price is the maximum amount you can lose on a call option.
  • Call options can be bought for speculation or sold for income or tax purposes.
  • Call options can also be combined for use in spread or combination strategies.