How to obtain quotes for stock options (163869)

SUMMARY

This article describes how use Microsoft Money or the Investing section of MSN Money to find ticker symbols and quotes for stock options.

Employee Stock Options use the main symbol of the company. Choose the Employee Stock Option type when you enter the initial Grant transaction. After you enter the initial Grant, click Investment Details to enter the Vesting and Expiration transactions.

Warrants are another type of option, but they have their own unique symbol. Use that symbol when you enter the initial Buy transaction.

The rest of this article deals with regular options.

An option is a contract between two investors that grants one investor the right to buy or sell a specific asset at a specific price within a specific time period.

MORE INFORMATION

To view a list of all the options that are available for a stock, use one of the following methods.

Note The option symbols used in MSN Money always begin with a period.

Method 1

On the MSN Money home page, click MSN Money Investing.
In the Symbol box, type the symbol of the company that you want to research, and then click Go.
In the Quote Detail page for the stock, click Options in the left pane.

Method 2

On the Investing navigation bar, click Stocks.
Click Find, and then click Symbols.

If the Find Symbol Web link is available, but Find is not, you need to upgrade your version of the MSN Money software. To do this:
1. On the Stocks page, click the Upgrade MSN Money Software hyperlink.
2. Click Download MSN Money Deluxe, and then click Yes.
3. If you see the chart graph, click I See the Chart, and then proceed to the next step.
  
  If you do not see the chart, click Common installation problems.
Click the Options tab.
In the Enter symbol box, type the ticker symbol of the company that you want to research, and then click Find.

Note If the ticker symbol for a stock contains more than three characters, the ticker symbol for the option is often the first two characters of the stock ticker symbol, followed by the letter "Q," the expiration date code, and the strike price code.

If you cannot find the option ticker symbol for your security, contact your broker.

Option Symbol Codes

The Expiration Date is the last day on which an option can be exercised. It becomes worthless after this date.

The following table lists the Call and Put codes for expiration dates in different months:

Expiration Month	Call Code	Put Code
January	A	M
February	B	N
March	C	O
April	D	P
May	E	Q
June	F	R
July	G	S
August	H	T
September	I	U
October	J	V
November	K	W
December	L	X

The Strike Price is the price at which the underlying stock can be purchased (for call options) or sold (for put options) during a specified period.

The following table lists the codes for strike prices from $5 to $500:

Code Strike Prices

A 5 105 205 305 405

B 10 110 210 310 410

C 15 115 215 315 415

D 20 120 220 320 420

E 25 125 225 325 425

F 30 130 230 330 430

G 35 135 235 335 435

H 40 140 240 340 440

I 45 145 245 345 445

J 50 150 250 350 450

K 55 155 255 355 455

L 60 160 260 360 460

M 65 165 265 365 465

N 70 170 270 370 470

O 75 175 275 375 475

P 80 180 280 380 480

Q 85 185 285 385 485

R 90 190 290 390 490

S 95 195 295 395 495

T 100 200 300 400 500

U 7.5

V 12.5

W 17.5

X 22.5

Note The same pattern repeats for strike prices from $500 to $1000.