Option class - GetProfitable

A class sits one level above a option-series. All XYZ calls form one class; all XYZ puts form another. Exchanges set trading rules, position-limits and exercise-limits at the class level, not per strike.

The distinction matters when a broker or exchange restricts something. A halt or an opening rotation applies to the class, so every XYZ call series stops quoting at once, not just the one you were watching.

Example: XYZ has weeklies, monthlies and leaps listed, with 60 strikes in each of 12 expirations. That is roughly 720 call series, but only one call class. A 25,000-contract position limit applies to your combined exposure across all 720 lines, not to each one separately.

See it drawn

Original diagrams for the ideas on this page. Illustrative, not real market data.

Buying a call: payoff at expiry. A 105-strike call bought for 3 loses that whole 3 if the price finishes at or below 105, breaks even at 108, then gains a dollar for every dollar higher. The loss is capped at the premium; the upside is not capped.