IBM Stock Options Price Widespread Movement Over Next Ten Months

IBM's stock price is currently trading at $237.28, and its option chain prices a wide band of potential movement over the next ten months. The band ranges from $155 to $358.42, which represents a significant departure from the company's recent performance.

The stock has already fallen 28% below its 52-week high, but the implied volatility behind the option chain suggests that the market expects calmer action than IBM has recently produced. This is unusual, as the company's actual movement over the trailing year has been around 48%, which is above the current implied volatility of 44%.

The band is asymmetrical, with the ceiling sitting about 51% higher and the floor sitting about 35% lower than today's price. This means that a fall to the floor would require a much larger gain to undo than a rise to the ceiling would cause.