Concept
In finance, the intrinsic value of an asset or security is its value as calculated with regard to an inherent, objective measure. A distinction, is re the asset's price, which is determined relative to other similar assets. Note, then, that the intrinsic approach to valuation may be somewhat simplified, in that it ignores elements other than the measure in question. For an option, the intrinsic value is the absolute value of the difference between the current price (S) of the underlying and the strike price (K) of the option, to the extent that this is in favor of the option holder. Thus, the option is said to have intrinsic value if the option is in-the-money; when out-of-the-money, its intrinsic value is zero. For an option, then, the intrinsic value is the same as the "immediate value" or the "current value" of the contract, which is the profit that could be gained by exercising the option immediately. Formulaically: For example, if the strike price for a call option is USD 1.00 and the price of the underlying is US0.20. This is because that call option allows the owner to buy the underlying stock at a price of 1.00, which they could then sell at its current market value of 1.20. Since this gives them a profit of 0.20, that is the current ("intrinsic") value of the option. The market price of an option is generally different from this intrinsic value, due to uncertainty: as alluded to, it is based on the current market value of the underlying instrument, but ignores the possibility of future fluctuations. Further, options are valid for a duration of time, so inventors may buy or sell options contracts on their belief in the likelihood that the value of the stock will change before the option's expiration date. This is called the option time value. For example, while an out-of-the-money option has an immediate/intrinsic value of zero, since exercising the option would not be profitable at the current time, the option could still be sold at nonzero price to an investor who speculates that the option might become in-the-money before it expires, due to a change in the value in the underlying stock.