# Trump, Personal and Business Financing in Light of Current and Future Judgments **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 28, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-personal-and-business-financing-in-light-of-current-and-future-judgments/996782 "2024-01-28T23:19:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 65
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-personal-and-business-financing-in-light-of-current-and-future-judgments/996782/65 "2024-03-27T01:13:24Z")
As a former options trader, I was curious about the pricing of put options on the first day the stock trades as DJT. If you’re not aware, put options give you the right to sell a security at a fixed price on or before a fixed date. Basically, if you think the value of that security is going to go down, you can buy a put option to place a bet on that outcome. If you’re right, you can multiply your money several times over; if you’re wrong, all you lose is the premium you paid for the option. Most investors buy puts as a hedge against the value of the stock they own. But when a stock is difficult or impossible to short – as DJT is – buying puts is the only way most investors can bet against a stock. The more doubt people have about a stock, the higher the volatility, and the higher the prices on puts will be. So … DJT put prices aren’t the craziest I’ve ever seen, but they’re pretty crazy. The stock closed at $58 today. Some highlights: - April26 40 puts (sell stock at $40 by April 26) closed at $9.10. So if you think the stock will be below $40 by the end of April, you can buy that put and your break-even would be $30.90 – almost a 50% drop from today’s close in just five weeks. - June21 40 puts (sell stock at $40 by June 21) closed at $16.00, just $7 higher than April but buying you almost two more months. So your break-even would be $24. This seems like a good buy to me. - Sept20 20 puts (sell stock at $20 by Sept. 20) closed at $8.27. So think about that. Six months from now, when DJT can sell his shares, you’re looking at a break-even of $11.73. The stock has to lose 80% of its value for your bet to be a winner. - Sept20 2.5 puts (sell stock at $2.50 by Sept. 20) closed at $0.23. If you think the stock will be worthless in six months, 23 cents will make you $2.27. TLDR: Wall Street is skeptical, to say the least. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-personal-and-business-financing-in-light-of-current-and-future-judgments/996782)._