Unlike a stock that has a single consolidated bid and ask quote, options on a stock
come in many different flavors. There are puts and calls, different strikes and different
expiration months on many option contracts. Given that there can be hundreds or even
thousands of different option contracts available for trading on the same underlying
asset, it can be challenging to organize them all into a coherent presentation where
they can be compared side by side. The typical approach is to display options in a table
which contains all options for a given expiration. This is called the Option Chain or the Option Montage.
Loading The Option Chain For Your Stock
While browsing stock-specific data, there is a series of links running along the left edge of the page.
Clicking on "Option Chain" on the left edge will display the Option Chain for that stock.
Alternatively, to view the Option Chain right now for a specific symbol, enter it in the field below and click "View Option Chain".
If your stock's symbol is not visible in the field below or the Option Chain menu choice is not visible in the left-side menu,
it's likely that there aren't any options available for the chosen symbol.
Viewing Historical Option Chain
By default the Option Chain is displayed for the latest business date, however Options Trader and Premium
All-In-One subscribers can select a historical date from a drop-down labelled "Load Option Chain for Previous Dates".
Working With the Option Chain
Market Chameleon's Option Chain presents a wealth of information to the user without it
becoming overwhelming. A specific row in the option chain table contains
call and put information for a given strike. The call is displayed on the left and
the put on the right. The strike price is displayed prominently in the middle - between
the call information and the put information. This presentation makes it easy to see the
call and corresponding put side by side and view the strikes going up by ascending order.
The At-The-Money strikes are enclosed in a black frame.
The pre-defined columns in the Option Chain are volume, bid implied vol, bid quote
ask quote and ask implied vol. There
is also a customizable column on the left and right edges that can be toggled by the user using
the drop-down to display one of the following analytics for each strike:
Mkt Chg - change in the price of the option since previous close based on the mid-point between the bid and ask prices
Options Trader and All-In-One Premium subscribers can download the information into a CSV file
which is easily loaded into MS Excel and other analysis tools.
Clicking on a value in the "Volume" column brings up a detail screen that shows the trade
details for that specific contract. More on this below...
Clicking on a value in the "Strike" column brings up a detail screen that shows the implied
volatility graphs for that strike. More on this below...
Choosing the Expiration Date
The table on the right side allows the user to select a different expiration which
will cause the option chain table to be re-drawn for another expiration.
To the right of the expiration date there may appear the letter "E"
indicating upcoming earnings or "D" indicating upcoming dividends. Hovering over the "E" or "D"
brings up details about the event.
Viewing Trades For a Selected Option Contract
Clicking on a value in the cell of one of the Volume columns (call or put) in the Option Chain brings up a screen showing trades and trade summaries
for the contract associated with the selected expiration, strike and root. Click "Close" on the lower-right corner to close it.
Viewing Implied Volatility For a Selected Option Contract
Clicking on a value in the cell of the Strike column in the Option Chain brings up a screen showing trades and trade summaries
for the contract associated with the selected expiration, strike and root. Click "Close" on the lower-right corner to close it.
