Suppose you have advanced expertise in timing the market, and you were able to predict exactly the beginning of the market collapse on Wednesday, Fe
uary 19, 2020, when the S&P 500 index hit a high of 3, XXXXXXXXXXYou were also able to perfectly forecast the turning point on Thursday, March 12, 2020, when the S&P 500 index hit a low of 2, XXXXXXXXXXSuppose that put options on the S&P 500 index were available on Fe
uary 19, with strike prices of 3,600, 3,200, 2,800, 2,400, and 2,000, all maturing on Friday, March 20, XXXXXXXXXXAssume that the appropriate risk-free rate of interest on Fe
uary 19 was 1.64% and that it was 0.35% on March 12. Similarly, assume that the volatility of the S&P 500 index as measured on Fe
uary 19 was 12.58% and that it was 80.58% on March 12.
(a) By using a Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model, calculate the prices of the five put options on Fe
uary 19 (at purchase) and again on March 12 (at sale). Calculate the dollar profit made on each put option. Finally, calculate the annualized percentage return obtained on each put option. Show these results (purchase price, sale price, dollar profit, and annualized return) in a table.
(b) Which of the five put options produced the highest annualized return? Provide two reasons to explain why the particular put option provided the highest return.