underlying asset
The physical and financial asset to which a security holder or a class of security holders has a claim. An analyst may believe that a stock is underpriced on the basis of the value of the firm's underlying assets and the potential earning power of those assets.
The asset that underlies and gives value to a security. The underlying asset of a stock option is the stock that the option can be used to purchase. Likewise, the underlying asset of a convertible bond is the stock for which the bond can be exchanged. The market value of a security is directly affected by changes in the value of any underlying asset into which it may be exchanged.