Strike Price

The strike price is the fixed price at which you can buy or sell a stock through an options contract. Think of it as a locked-in price that doesn't change, even if the stock's market price moves around. You'll encounter this when trading options—contracts that give you the right (but not the obligation) to buy or sell shares at a future date. It matters because the strike price determines whether your option is profitable. For example, if you buy a call option (the right to buy) with a $50 strike price on TechCorp stock, you can purchase shares at $50 no matter how high the price climbs—valuable if TechCorp jumps to $70.