Options techniques to maximize gains and lower risk in flat and volatile market conditions Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader.

An option gives traders the right, but not the obligation, to trade the underlying asset that it is linked to. Whether the underlying asset moves up or down in value, an options straddle is a trading ...

Buying a straddle profits from significant price swings regardless of direction. Selling a straddle profits when the stock price remains stable near strike price. Straddle buying is risky before ...

A straddle can be considered a volatility spread, as the trader who puts on the straddle is speculating on the volatility, or degree of movement of the underlying, not necessarily the direction of ...