Bearish — Strategy calculators

A long put profits when the stock falls. You buy a put for the right to sell at the strike; losses are capped at the premium while profits grow as the stock drops toward zero.

A bear put spread buys a put and sells a lower-strike put. Defined risk and reward make it a cost-efficient way to profit from a moderate decline.

A bear call credit spread sells a call and buys a higher-strike call, collecting a credit. It profits if the stock stays below the short strike.

A naked (short) call sells a call without owning the stock. You keep the premium if the stock stays below the strike, but the risk is theoretically unlimited if it rallies — one of the highest-risk options trades.

A put ratio spread buys one put and sells two lower-strike puts. It is cheap or a credit and profits from a moderate decline — but the extra short put leaves growing risk if the stock falls too far.

A put backspread sells one put and buys two lower puts. It profits from a sharp decline with large downside payoff, often costs little or nothing, and has limited, defined risk if the stock holds steady.

A synthetic short stock combines a short call and a long put at the same strike. Together they replicate the payoff of shorting 100 shares — dollar-for-dollar downside profit and uncapped upside risk — usually for little or no net cost, and without borrowing the stock.

A diagonal put spread sells a near-term out-of-the-money put and buys a longer-dated put at a different strike. It is the bearish mirror of the diagonal call: you collect near-term time decay while the longer-dated long put defines the risk and carries the directional view.

A covered put shorts 100 shares and sells a put against them. It is the bearish mirror of a covered call: you collect premium and profit while the stock drifts down to the put strike, where your gain is capped — but a rally brings unlimited risk from the short shares.

A bull put ladder starts as a bull put credit spread and adds a second long put below it: short one higher put, long one middle put, long one lower put. The two long puts make it a net-bearish, volatile trade — large profit on a sharp drop, a small credit kept if the stock rises, and the worst outcome a modest decline into the middle zone. It is the put-side mirror of the bear call ladder.

A bear put ladder is a bear put spread with an extra short put added below it: long one higher put, short one middle put, short one lower put. The second short cheapens the trade — sometimes to a credit — but is naked, so a hard sell-off past the lowest strike brings large losses. It suits a moderate decline that stalls inside a target zone.