Playing options with a hundred bucks | A Microsoft end-of-day option surged over 280%! A SOFI put option soared more than 80%, with a high exercise rate!

Hello fellow investors! Many options beginners get overwhelmed when they first encounter options, unsure which underlying asset or contract to choose, fearing they'll lose everything by making the wrong choice.For beginners, using an extremely low trial-and-error cost (e.g., less than $100) to familiarize yourself with the rules, experience the adrenaline rush, and develop market intuition may be an essential step on your investment journey.

To meet the needs of our fellow investors, OptionMovers has launched the 'Hundred Bucks for Options' column.Focus on two key factors: trending underlyings (which are prone to big swings, and where volatility brings opportunity, with relatively sufficient liquidity) + small-capital contracts (where the price of a single option is under $100, allowing you to test the waters at a minimal cost).

Every day, we'll review the top 10 traded stocks priced by tier, while breaking down key information about active core options, including strike prices, volatility, and probability of execution, helping investors capture market opportunities affordably while balancing cost-effectiveness and trading insights. Fellow investors, stay tuned!

I. Stock Price Below $50 - Top 10 Low-Cost Option Trades

Stocks with lower share prices often have relatively cheaper absolute option premiums (i.e., option fees or rights fees), as they represent smaller underlying asset value scales, determined by the pricing logic of options. Therefore, this category of options hasThis is because the underlying asset value it carries is relatively small, which is determined by the pricing logic of options. Therefore, this option hasLow barrier, light costFeatures: Suitable for small-capital layouts in directional opportunities while reducing the risk of premium erosion. $SoFi Technologies (SOFI.US)$$PayPal (PYPL.US)$$Novo-Nordisk A/S (NVO.US)$$Hims & Hers Health (HIMS.US)$$Intel (INTC.US)$

Core screening criteria: Latest option price between 0.1-1 USD (indicating a single option contract price range of 10-100 USD), underlying stock price < 50 USD, ranked by top ten trading volume on the day (with an attached chart showing the top ten traded).

Among SOFI options with a trading volume exceeding 100 contracts, the one with the largest increase is the put option expiring on February 27, 2026, with a strike price of $18.

The current volatility of this option is lower than the 30-day historical average volatility, and its implied volatility is close to 74%. If it's expected that the implied volatility of the option will decline in the future, it would be suitable for constructing strategies as an option seller. However, considering the current level of implied volatility, attention should instead be paid to the risk of implied volatility reverting to normal levels.

If implied volatility is expected to rise alongside continued stock price fluctuations, it would be suitable for option buyers.

The current probability of exercise is relatively high, approximately 45.34%. If planning to take delivery and predicting that implied volatility will decrease, combined with the above-mentioned higher implied volatility, it would be suitable as an option selling strategy. Conversely, if anticipating an increase in the probability of exercise, it would be appropriate as an option buying strategy. However, considering the aforementioned situation, caution must be taken regarding the probability of implied volatility reverting, and strategies should be constructed accordingly.

II. Weekly Top Nine Options Trading Rankings

Starting from January 26, the US stock options market experienced a significant upgrade:$Tesla (TSLA.US)$ 、$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ 、$Apple (AAPL.US)$ 、$Amazon(AMZN.US)$ 、Meta Platforms (META.US) 、$Broadcom (AVGO.US)$ 、$谷歌-C (GOOG.US)$、$Microsoft(MSFT.US)$、$iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT.US)$These nine major underlying assets, which originally had options contracts expiring every Friday, now also have new contracts expiring on Mondays and Wednesdays.

What does this mean? Previously, if you wanted to use options on these underlying assets to leverage small capital for bigger gains, you would have to wait until the market closed on Friday. But now, you can also trade up to Monday or Wednesday, accelerating capital turnover.Moreover, due to shorter durations and lower prices, it’s possible to participate in market movements with even less capital, reducing trial-and-error costs significantly.

Although the unit price of the underlying stock in this option is relatively high, the premium for a single option contract is still kept below $100, allowing investors to gain exposure to high-priced core assets while significantly lowering entry costs.

Core screening criteria: nine major underlying assets, latest option prices between $0.1 and $1 (indicating that the price for a single option contract is between $10 and $100), expiration within three days, sorted by percentage change.

Among the nine companies, the largest increase was seen in Microsoft's put option expiring on February 27, 2026, with a strike price of $355.

The current volatility of this option is slightly higher than the 30-day historical average volatility, and its implied volatility is close to 49%. If it is anticipated that the implied volatility of the option will decline in the future, it would be suitable for constructing strategies as an option seller. However, considering the current level of implied volatility, attention should instead be paid to the risk of implied volatility reverting to normal levels.

If implied volatility is expected to rise alongside continued stock price fluctuations, it would be suitable for option buyers.

The current probability of exercise is relatively low, approximately 4.65%. If predicting that implied volatility will decrease, combined with the above-mentioned higher implied volatility, it would be suitable as an option selling strategy. Conversely, if expecting an increase in the probability of exercise, it would be appropriate as an option buying strategy.

On the investment journey, every practice of validating one's understanding at a controllable cost is a solid step toward realizing future value. Fellow investors who wish to learn more about how to trade low-cost options can click the link below to study further.

Beginner's Guide to Option Profits | Using popular underlying assets RDW and ONDS as examples: Start your first option trade for under $100

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