It will probably take several weeks before it is possible to purchase put options on Snap.
The cost of LEAPS is very high when they are purchased on speculative companies. For example, take Tesla.
Tesla closed today at $250. To purchase an "at the money" $250 put dated January 2019 (aka a LEAP) would cost you $54. So TSLA stock would need to fall below $196 at expiration before you began to make money on it. That's a simplification because you could always sell your put early, possibly at a profit. Buying a January 2018 put would be cheaper, but still quite expensive at $37.
To reduce the cost of a put you can buy one that is "out of the money". For example the TSLA $200 put dated January 2019 would be cheaper, only $31. However, TSLA would need to fall below $169 before you made any money at expiration.
So, look at that last example. TSLA now $250, you pay $31 now and you don't make money unless TSLA closes below $169 at expiration.
Math like that is why sophisticated investors often short stock rather than buy puts. They need to pay a price to "borrow" the stock to short but for many companies that price is quite low, below 10% a year. The cost of buying put options on the same stock could be two or three times as high as directly shorting the stock.
When SNAP puts become available I expect the math to be much worse than for TSLA. It will cost A LOT to buy puts on such a speculative company. In trader talk, the "implied volatility" will be very high.
The cost of LEAPS is very high when they are purchased on speculative companies. For example, take Tesla.
Tesla closed today at $250. To purchase an "at the money" $250 put dated January 2019 (aka a LEAP) would cost you $54. So TSLA stock would need to fall below $196 at expiration before you began to make money on it. That's a simplification because you could always sell your put early, possibly at a profit. Buying a January 2018 put would be cheaper, but still quite expensive at $37.
To reduce the cost of a put you can buy one that is "out of the money". For example the TSLA $200 put dated January 2019 would be cheaper, only $31. However, TSLA would need to fall below $169 before you made any money at expiration.
So, look at that last example. TSLA now $250, you pay $31 now and you don't make money unless TSLA closes below $169 at expiration.
Math like that is why sophisticated investors often short stock rather than buy puts. They need to pay a price to "borrow" the stock to short but for many companies that price is quite low, below 10% a year. The cost of buying put options on the same stock could be two or three times as high as directly shorting the stock.
When SNAP puts become available I expect the math to be much worse than for TSLA. It will cost A LOT to buy puts on such a speculative company. In trader talk, the "implied volatility" will be very high.