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Black-Scholes value of a call on a stock power

Question

Under Black-Scholes assumptions (stock price SS, volatility σ\sigma, rate rr, no dividends), find the value today of a European option that pays max⁡(STα−X,0)\max(S_T^{\alpha} - X, 0) at time TT, where α\alpha is a positive constant.

Short answer

V=e−rT[MN(d1)−XN(d2)]V = e^{-rT}\left[M N(d_1) - X N(d_2)\right] with M=E[STα]=S0αexp⁡ ⁣(α(r−12σ2)T+12α2σ2T)M = \mathbb{E}[S_T^\alpha] = S_0^\alpha \exp\!\left(\alpha(r - \tfrac12\sigma^2)T + \tfrac12\alpha^2\sigma^2 T\right), d2=αln⁡S0+α(r−12σ2)T−ln⁡XασTd_2 = \frac{\alpha\ln S_0 + \alpha(r-\frac12\sigma^2)T - \ln X}{\alpha\sigma\sqrt T} and d1=d2+ασTd_1 = d_2 + \alpha\sigma\sqrt T. The key fact is that STαS_T^\alpha is lognormal with log-volatility ασ\alpha\sigma, so the Black formula applies to it directly.

Adapted from Crack, Heard on the Street, Q2.32, p.29; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

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