Knowledge Base/How do you read an options symbol?

How do you read an options symbol?

Reading option symbols can be quite confusing at first glance. An option contract symbol is separated into 4 parts.

First is the underlying stock ticker.

Next is the expiration date in YYMMDD format.

Then the option type is listed, “C” for call or “P” for put.

Last, is the strike price, also known as the exercise price. This value includes three decimal places.

A simple way of calculating this value is to divide the strike price part of the option ticker by 1000.

Example - January 21, 2022 Call Option for Uber with a $50 Strike Price UBER220121C00050000 = UBER + 220121 + C + 00050000 Underlying Stock - UBER Expiration Date - January 21st, 2022 or ‘220121’ (YYMMDD) Option Type - Call or ‘C’ Strike Price - 00050000 (50000/1000) or $50

Sometime there will be a number in between the ticker symbol and expiry date. This represents a correction on the contract. Querying an option contract with the additional value will not return any data. You will need to use the corrected contract without the additional number.

You can read more about this in our blog post - How to Read a Stock Options Ticker


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