Options Summary
Last updated
Last updated
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The Options Summary page provides options chain data for an underlying symbol. Options data is categorized based on expiration dates. Options contracts that are in-the-money (ITM) have a light green background, whereas out-of-the-money (OTM) options have no background color.
There are different ways to access the Options Summary page. The easiest way is from the Charts & Tools tab. Scroll down to the Summary Pages and select Options Quotes. Enter the stock symbol and click Go.
Let's start with the List View, which lists calls and puts with call data listed first.
The options data displayed will be for the symbol you typed in before getting to this page. If you wish to view options data for another symbol, enter it in the symbol box and hit enter or select Go.
1— Quote Details. This is where you see symbol-specific information such as the stock price, market cap, and volume. Below this info is the options data.
2— Options Chain. Select List View.
3— Expiration. From the Expiration dropdown menu, you can select the expiration date for which you want to view the options data. The expiration dropdown menu includes all available expiration periods from the front month to the further months. Each expiration shows the days to expiration (DTE) in brackets. Weekly or quarterly options will be designated with a (W) or (Q), respectively.
The options chain is displayed as a table where you have the contract, last trading date, strike price, bid, bid size, ask, ask size, mid-price, volume, open interest (OI), implied volatility (IV), delta, theta, gamma, vega, and rho.
Know Your Options. A brief definition of these terms can be found below.
If that's too much data, uncheck the Show All Columns button to see fewer columns. Your choice.
4— Strike Range. You probably only want to view the strike prices closer to the at-the-money (ATM) strike. This is where the Strike Range bar comes in handy. Say you want to view five strikes above and below the ATM strike. Here's how to do it.
Slide the left blue dot toward the center of the bar.
Slide the right blue dot toward the center of the bar.
If you want to see fewer or more strikes, adjust the position of the blue dot.
How can you use this data? If you're interested in trading calls or puts via covered calls, cash-secured puts, or protective puts, the list view may be helpful since you're only focused on OTM puts and calls.
If you're considering trading options spreads, you may prefer the Straddle View, which displays call and put data side by side, arranged by strike prices.
Select the Straddle View
The data is similar to what was in the List View.
Seeing the put and call data side by side can be helpful when you trade vertical spreads, calendar spreads, or straddles.
Even if you don't trade options, you can still view the options data on a stock you're considering adding to your portfolio. Open interest and volume give you an idea of which options have the most activity. You could also look at implied volatility (IV%) before an earnings announcement to understand how volatile the underlying security will likely be.
StockCharts members can add the options data to their ChartLists and/or create alerts based on options price action.
Members can also view the symbols in their ChartLists using the Options Summary. From Your Dashboard, select Options from the View As dropdown next to the ChartList you wish to view. Alternatively, you can switch to Options View from other ChartList formats, such as Summary, Gallery View, or CandleGlance. Select Options from the View List As dropdown.
The Options View will display detailed options data about each symbol in your ChartList, one at a time. Above the chart, you can use the Select List dropdown to choose a different ChartList to view. Use the Select Chart dropdown to choose a specific symbol in the ChartList to display. The arrow buttons on either side of this dropdown menu allow you to quickly cycle through the ChartList's contents.
You can add or edit notes for the entire ChartList by clicking the ChartList Notes box at the bottom of the screen. Click the Save button once you've made your changes. For more editing functionality, use the Edit List button at the top of the screen to load the ChartList in Edit View.
The Delete List and New List buttons can delete the current ChartList and create a new ChartList, respectively.
Members who have purchased a subscription to the OptionsPlay Add-on can also access the OptionsPlay Explorer tool to research the best options strategies for a particular stock, customize the strategy to fit their time horizon and risk profile, then copy detailed trade plans to their brokerage account.
To access the OptionsPlay Explorer from the Options Summary or Options View, load the options chain for the ticker symbol you want to assess, then click the link in the blue OptionsPlay banner above the options chain table.
Note: Members who have not subscribed to the OptionsPlay Add-On can still see the OptionsPlay Explorer, but will only be able to analyze AAPL, not any other ticker symbol.
Learn More: OptionsPlay Add-On | OptionsPlay Explorer
The following is a brief synopsis of some options terminology.
Strike price. This is the price at which the options owner has the right to buy or sell the underlying security. It's also the price at which an option can be exercised.
Open Interest (OI). The number of open, active contracts for the underlying security. A high open interest means the contract is more liquid.
Implied Volatility (IV). The forecasted movement of the underlying security's price on an annual basis.
Delta. How much the price of an options contract is likely to change if the underlying security moves by one point, all else equal.
Theta. The value of theta represents how much the price of an option decays as time passes one calendar day.
Gamma. A measure of the approximate change in the delta of an option relative to the change in price of the underlying, all else equal.
Vega. A measure of the change in an option's price relative to a 1% change in IV.
Rho. The value of rho indicates how much an option will lose or gain when there's a 1% change in the risk-free interest rate.
For more options terms, check out the Options Glossary in ChartSchool.
