BLACK-SCHOLES OPTION PRICING MODEL
This model is widely used by options traders and is generally considered to be the standard for option pricing. Many
hand-held calculators and computer programs have this formula permanently stored in. We now use Excel to write a
“program”, if you will, for the Black-Scholes pricing model in Excel.
First, we will lay out the input data given to us in the setup of the problem.
Now, we will use the formula from above to solve for d1.
e. (3.) What is the value of the following call option according to the OPM?
Looking at these equations we see that you must first solve d1 and d2 before you can proceed to value the option.
The derivation of the Black-Scholes model rests on the concept of a riskless hedge. By buying shares of a stock and
simultaneously selling call options on that stock, an investor can create a risk-free investment position, where gains on
e. (1.) What assumptions underlie the OPM?
In these equations, V is the value of the option. P is the current price of the stock. N(d1) is the area beneath the
standard normal distribution corresponding to (d1). X is the strike price. rRF is the risk-free rate. t is the time to
maturity. N(d2) is the area beneath the standard normal distribution corresponding to (d2). s, or sigma, is the volatility
of the stock price, as measured by the standard deviation.
5. Short selling is permitted, and the short seller will receive immediately the full cash proceeds of today’s price for a
security sold short.
6. The call option can be exercised only on its expiration date.
7. Trading in all securities takes place continuously, and the stock price moves randomly.
4. Any purchaser of a security may borrow any fraction of the purchase price at the short-term, risk-free interest rate.
e. (2.) Write out the three equations that constitute the model.
1. The stock underlying the call option provides no dividends or other distributions during the life of the option.
2. There are no transaction costs for buying or selling either the stock or the option.
3. The short-term, risk-free interest rate is known and is constant during the life of the option.
e. In 1973, Fischer Black and Myron Scholes developed the Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model (OPM).
In deriving this option pricing model, Black and Scholes made the following assumptions:
the stock are exactly offset by losses on the option. Ultimately, the Black-Scholes model utilizes these three formulas: