Individuals Embrace Options Trading, Turbocharging Stock Markets
Shares of Robinhood Markets Inc. had mostly disappointed the trading app’s fans since their initial public offering. But Harsh Patel felt sure that was about to change.
Mr. Patel, a 27-year-old nurse in Columbus, Ohio, figured its price would rise after he saw chatter about Robinhood light up a stock market chatboard. So on Aug. 4, he paid $600 for a call option—a contract that confers the right, though not the obligation, to purchase 100 shares at a stated price by a certain date.
