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L.3 · ADVANCED · 2 MIN

Put-Call Parity: The Pricing Anchor

Put-call parity is a fundamental relationship linking European calls, puts, the underlying stock, and a risk-free bond. It’s the pricing anchor that keeps options markets honest — and it reveals when options are mispriced.

Quiz · 5 questions ↓
§ 01
Call + PV(Strike) = Put + Stock
§ 02

If this equation doesn’t hold, there’s an arbitrage opportunity. In practice, market makers enforce parity within fractions of a cent. When you see apparent violations, they’re usually explained by dividends, borrowing costs, or American exercise features.

§ 03
RearrangementSynthetic PositionUse Case
Call = Put + Stock − PV(K)Synthetic long callWhen calls are mispriced relative to puts
Put = Call − Stock + PV(K)Synthetic long putWhen puts are mispriced relative to calls
Stock = Call − Put + PV(K)Synthetic stockReplicate stock exposure using options
§ 04
Pick a stock and check the prices of a call and put at the same strike and expiration. Verify that put-call parity approximately holds: Call − Put ≈ Stock − PV(Strike).
§ 05
A $100 call costs $8 and the corresponding $100 put costs $5. The stock is at $103. Does put-call parity approximately hold?
§ 06

Put-call parity means you never need to value calls and puts independently. Once you know one, the other is determined by the relationship. This is the foundation of all options pricing theory.

§ 07
Put-call parity says: Call - Put = Stock - PV(Strike). If a call is trading at $5, same-strike put at $3, stock at $100, and PV of $100 strike is $98, is there an arbitrage?
Five questions · AI feedback

Sit with the ideas.

A stock trades at $100. A $100-strike call costs $8.00 and a $100-strike put costs $6.50, both expiring in one year. The risk-free rate is 3%. Does put-call parity hold?

Why:
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