An options chain, also commonly referred to as an option matrix or chain sheet, shows all available option contracts, both puts and calls, for a given stock or ETF.
How do I find the option chain for a particular symbol?
Visit an asset page for a stock or ETF by searching for it or clicking on from elsewhere in the app
Tap on the ‘Trade’ button
For all symbols where Public offers options trading, you’ll see a ‘Trade options’ button. Tapping on the ‘Trade options’ button will take you to the option chain for that asset.
What information can I find on the Option chain?
Once on the Options Hub, you can explore contracts by symbol, expiration date, and option type. Once you’ve selected the asset, expiration date, and call or put, you’ll be able to see all strike prices, pricing information, and breakeven calculations for a given asset.
What does each metric mean?
Option name
Similar to stocks, every option has a symbol that is composed of the underlying equity symbol and the option contract’s strike price, expiration date, and option type. Each symbol is also converted into a name to make it easier to quickly understand what each Option symbol means.
Call / Put
A call gives an investor the right to buy shares of a stock or ETF at a specific strike price before the contract’s expiration date. A put gives investors the right to sell underlying shares of a stock or ETF at a specified strike price before the contract’s expiration date.
Strike price
Strike price is the pre-agreed upon price that the option contract will execute at if exercised. For calls, it’s the price at which the option holder can purchase the underlying asset. For puts, it’s the price that the holder can sell the underlying asset for.
Expiration date
Expiration date is the date on which the option contract expires. With American Options, Option holders have the right to exercise any day up to and including the day of expiration. Right now, all Options traded on Public are American Options.
Price
Since not all Option contracts trade every day, when looking at the chain for a specific symbol, Public shows the bid / ask depending on if you are buying or selling the contract as the price on the right side of the option chain. The bid price is the highest price someone is willing to pay for an option. The ask price is the lowest price someone is willing to sell an option for. The price represents the premium an investor pays to purchase the option, regardless of whether or not it is exercised.
Change
Directly under the price, you will see the daily percentage change. This shows the price of the last option trade compared to the previous day’s closing price.
Volume and Open Interest
Volume tells you how many contracts of a particular option symbol were traded on the most recent trading day. Open interest shows the total number of contracts that are currently open - meaning the number of contracts not yet closed or exercised.
Breakeven
The stock price at which you neither make a profit nor incur a loss with that option contract. The option cost or premium collected is included in the breakeven.
For further questions contact Member Support via in-app chat or email at support@public.com.