Option screener

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An option screener is a tool that evaluates options based on criteria and generates a list of potential trading ideas. Because of the size and liquidity of its market, most option screeners are targeted at U.S. exchange-traded equity options.

[edit] Overview

Options, particularly exchange-traded options, are highly liquid securities whose market prices can change rapidly. In addition, the number of options in a market can be large. For instance, as of October, 2006, there are over 185,000 individual equity option contracts, written on nearly 3,000 underlying stocks, that are listed on the various U.S. options exchanges. Each contract is typically listed on multiple exchanges, resulting in nearly 1,000,000 separate option prices that all change in real-time. For an option trader, the task of selecting an option to trade out of this multitude is a daunting task.

[edit] Screening criterion

Being able to isolate option plays that appeal to a specific trader is a vital component of a useful option screener. To do this, the option screener needs to allow the trader to define filters that narrow down the ideal options based upon what the trader deems important. Typical filters include, but are not limited to: