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Not investment advice. Educational reading. See Disclaimer.
L.2 · BEGINNER · 3 MIN

In, Out, and At the Money

Moneyness describes an option’s relationship to the current stock price. It determines whether an option has intrinsic value right now — and profoundly affects its price, Greeks, and behavior.

Quiz · 5 questions ↓
§ 01
AAPL — Current Price. Open AAPL on the Ledge to see current values.
§ 02
MoneynessCall Example (Stock at $150)Put Example (Stock at $150)Has Intrinsic Value?
In-the-Money (ITM)Strike $145 ($5 intrinsic)Strike $155 ($5 intrinsic)Yes
At-the-Money (ATM)Strike $150Strike $150No (just time value)
Out-of-the-Money (OTM)Strike $155Strike $145No
§ 03

ATM options have the most time value and the highest theta decay. OTM options are cheaper but more likely to expire worthless. ITM options behave more like the stock itself.

§ 04
Call Intrinsic Value = max(Stock Price − Strike, 0)
§ 05
Look at an options chain for any stock. Identify which strikes are ITM, ATM, and OTM. Notice how premiums decrease as you move further OTM.
§ 06
A $100 call costs $12 when the stock is at $108. How much is intrinsic value vs. time value?
§ 07

Time value is what you pay for the POSSIBILITY that the option becomes more valuable. It decays to zero at expiration. Intrinsic value is what the option is ACTUALLY worth right now.

§ 08
AAPL at $200. Call strike $210 = OUT of the money (OTM). Call strike $195 = IN the money (ITM). Time value at expiry?
Five questions · AI feedback

Sit with the ideas.

Stock XYZ trades at $80. Which of the following put options is in the money?

Why:
Try this in paper trading

Buy 100 shares of a covered-call candidate

Pick a stock you'd be comfortable selling at 10% above today's price. Paper-buy 100 shares (a standard options contract size). Journal what strike + expiration you'd write a covered call at, even though we're not paper-trading options at v1.

Open paper portfolio →

Practice mode — simulated trades, not investment advice.

See it on a real ticker →