At the money (ATM)
At the money means the strike sits at or very near the current stock price. With the stock at 100, a 100 call is at the money.
In depth
At the money is the middle ground. There is no real value in the contract yet, so the whole price is time value. That makes it the priciest contract in time terms. It also loses the most per day as expiry gets closer.
Stock at 100 and a 100 call costs 2.00. If the stock moves to 101 the call might go to 2.50. It gains about half a dollar for each dollar in the stock. That rate picks up as the trade works. These contracts also react most to a change in expected volatility, in both directions.
Why it matters
Picking a strike is a trade-off. At the money follows the stock better than a distant strike does, and it costs more than one. Buy it and then sit in a sideways market. Time decay charges you rent every day while nothing happens.
Your option fills import from Schwab and IBKR on their own, so nothing needs typing in. Tag your at the money entries and put them beside the cheaper strikes in the By tag table. Results by hold time show how long they stayed worth holding.
Frequently asked questions
It is the middle option. It follows the stock better than a far strike and costs more, which cuts both ways.
Its price is all time value, and time value falls quickest in the last weeks before expiry.
Keep your At the money (ATM) trades on the record in TraderLog
Trades import from Schwab and IBKR on their own, every day lands on a calendar with its P&L, and the day's entry sits beside it. Replay any trade on a TradingView chart. Free for 14 days, no card.
Every trading morning at 8:40 ET our model draws the SPY, QQQ and IWM zones it expects to matter, on a TradingView chart, before the open. Where price reaches one, it has turned 74 percent of the time. Free, no account. See today's map