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Highest gamma among ATM options on different stocks

Question

Three at-the-money options are written on three different underlyings, with strikes 1010, 2020 and 3030 (so spot equals strike in each case). They share the same expiry, and you may assume the same volatility. In the Black–Scholes model, which strike's option has the largest gamma?

Short answer

The strike-1010 option. At the money, Γ=φ(d1)/(SσT)\Gamma=\varphi(d_1)/(S\sigma\sqrt{T}), and d1d_1 is the same for all three, so gamma scales like 1/S1/S. A one-dollar move matters far more to a $10 stock than to a $30 one.

Adapted from QuantQuestions.io; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

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