Options Terminology

A reference guide to the terms and metrics used throughout TrendSpider's options tools.

Contract Basics

• Call — An options contract giving the buyer the right to purchase the underlying asset at the strike price before expiration.
• Put — An options contract giving the buyer the right to sell the underlying asset at the strike price before expiration.
• Strike Price — The fixed price at which an options contract can be exercised.
• Expiration Date — The date on which the options contract expires. After this date, unexercised contracts have no value.
• Last Price — The price at which the contract last traded.
• Price Change % — The percentage change in the contract's last price compared to the previous session's close.
• Bid — The highest price a buyer is currently willing to pay for a contract.
• Ask — The lowest price a seller is currently willing to accept for a contract.
• Ask-Bid Spread — The difference between the ask and bid price. Wider spreads indicate lower liquidity and higher transaction costs.
• Bid Size — The number of contracts available at the current bid price.
• Ask Size — The number of contracts available at the current ask price.
• Open Interest (OI) — The total number of outstanding contracts that have not been settled or closed.
• OI Change — The difference in open interest from the previous session. Positive values mean new contracts were opened; negative values mean contracts were closed or expired.
• Volume, Today — The number of contracts traded in the current session.
• Volume/OI — The ratio of today's volume to open interest. A value above 1 means more contracts traded today than currently exist as open positions.

Moneyness

• In the Money (ITM) — A call is ITM when the underlying price is above the strike. A put is ITM when the underlying price is below the strike.
• At the Money (ATM) — When the underlying price is at or very near the strike price.
• Out of the Money (OTM) — A call is OTM when the underlying price is below the strike. A put is OTM when the underlying price is above the strike.

The Greeks

• Delta — Measures how much an option's price changes for every $1 move in the underlying. Ranges from 0 to 1 for calls, 0 to -1 for puts. ATM options have a delta near 0.50.
• Delta × OI — Delta multiplied by open interest at each strike. Shows the aggregate delta-weighted exposure across all outstanding contracts at that strike.
• Gamma — Measures the rate of change in delta for every $1 move in the underlying. Highest for ATM options near expiration.
• Gamma × OI — Gamma multiplied by open interest at each strike. Shows the aggregate gamma-weighted exposure across all outstanding contracts at that strike.
• Theta — Measures how much value an option loses each day due to time decay. All else equal, options lose value as expiration approaches.
• Theta × OI — Theta multiplied by open interest at each strike. Shows the aggregate theta-weighted exposure across all outstanding contracts at that strike.
• Vega — Measures an option's sensitivity to a 1% change in implied volatility. Higher vega means the contract is more affected by volatility shifts.
• Vega × OI — Vega multiplied by open interest at each strike. Shows the aggregate vega-weighted exposure across all outstanding contracts at that strike.

Volatility

• Implied Volatility (IV) — The market's forward-looking expectation of price movement, derived from current options prices. Higher IV means contracts are more expensive.
• Put - Call IV — The difference in implied volatility between puts and calls at the same strike.

Put/Call Metrics

• Put - Call OI — The difference between put open interest and call open interest at a given strike.
• Put - Call Volume — The difference between put volume and call volume at a given strike for the current session.
• Put/Call Ratio, OI — The ratio of total put open interest to total call open interest. A ratio above 1 means more open put contracts exist than call contracts.
• Put/Call Ratio, Volume — The ratio of put volume to call volume for the current session. A ratio above 1 means more put contracts have traded today than call contracts.

Contract Symbology

Options contracts use standard OCC symbology in the following format:

AAPL260320C00260000

• AAPL — Underlying ticker
• 260320 — Expiration date (March 20, 2026)
• C — Contract type (C = Call, P = Put)
• 00260000 — Strike price ($260.00)

You do not need to type the full symbol to search. Entering a ticker and partial expiration such as
AAPL26 or AAPL 26 will surface matching contracts.