OptionStation Pro

Search Results Panel

The Search Results panel is where you search for options to trade. You are able to define your own search criteria, perform a search, and compare the resulting spread candidates to find options that you believe are suitable for trading. To access this window, click the Search tab in OptionStation Pro.

Search tab

Click the Search tab; the Search panel appears.

Configuration

View and edit your search criteria for finding relevant option spreads for a specific asset. See below for more details on the different sections.

Run Search

Once all of the configuration criteria are specified, click Run Search to provide search results.

Results Grid

View the search results.

Search Configuration Sections

Current Settings Section

The underlying asset, volatility, pricing model, and proximity settings for your search.

Asset - The symbol of the underlying asset that the search will be based on.
Asset Volatility - The asset volatility setting that the search will be based on.
Model - The Pricing Model that has been defined in the Common section of the Settings panel.
Strike Proximity - The Strike Proximity setting that the search will be based on.
Expiration Proximity - The Expiration Proximity setting that the search will be based on.

Strategy Section

Lets you identify the type of market outlook or individual spread strategy to base your search on.

Strategy - Allows you to select a Market Outlook Category or a specific Option Strategy from a drop-down list. Market Outlook Categories are listed above the dividing line and Option Strategies below the line.
- A Market Outlook Category represents a group of spreads that all potentially profit from the same market movement. Categories are organized by market outlook (Bullish, Bearish, Active Market, Quiet Market) and risk profile (Limited or Unlimited). Once a category is selected, the included spreads are displayed beneath the combo box.
- An Option Strategy represents a specific spread type (Single, Vertical, Butterfly, Collar, etc.).
Strike Interval - Allows you to select a strike interval for any strategy.
Exp Interval - Allows you to select an expiration interval for selected strategies.

Market Outlook Section

Parameters used to define the price, expiration, and volatility conditions for your search.

Projected Asset Price - Used to enter the percentage you believe the asset will move by the trade closing date. The text to the right of the box shows the resulting asset price based on the value you enter. A positive percentage indicates a "bullish" sentiment, a negative percentage indicates a "bearish" sentiment, and zero (Default) indicates a "flat" sentiment.
Trade Closing Date - Lets you choose the date the trade will be closed from the calendar control. The closing date you select will be used to select viable option expiration dates and other calculations, such as the projected price. Only options with expiration dates later than the trade closing date (default = 1 day) will be included in the search. The text to the right of the box shows the number of days to the specified closing date.
Asset Vol Change - Used to specify the percentage you believe the volatility will move. A positive percentage indicates "higher," a negative percentage indicates "lower," and zero (Default) indicates "flat." The text to the right of the box shows the projected direction and volatility value based the value you enter.
Projected Price Range - The projected price range is defined as the lower (-3 std dev) and upper (+3 std dev) price range that the underlying can experience given the selected asset volatility.

Filtering Section

Use this section to determine the types of options to include in your results.

Include Call Strategies - Indicates that Call strategies are to be included in search results, when checked.
Include Put Strategies - Indicates that Put strategies are to be included in search results, when checked.
Include Buy Strategies - Indicates that Buy strategies are to be included in search results, when checked.
Include Sell Strategies - Indicates that Sell strategies are to be included in search results, when checked.

Run Section

Sets the ranking criteria and result size to display when clicking the Run Search button.

Rank Results By - Used to select the column that the search will be ranked by.
Number of Results - Specifies the number of spread results to place in the search results grid.
Run Search - Clicking the Run Search button clears the previous results and generates new results based on the specified criteria. Search results are not automatically updated after being loaded.

Search Results Columns

Columns for the Search Results can be added, removed, sorted, and repositioned. For more information, see Formatting Columns in OptionStation Pro.

Available columns for the Search Results include:

Fixed columns - ordered left to right

Strategy – The type of spread strategy.

Description – Describes the spread by the direction, symbol, option term, strikes, and option type (put or call) that it contains. Mini option spreads will display a (10) in the description field following the underlying asset, while standard-sized option spreads do not have the size listed.

Default columns - ordered left to right

Price – The current market price/premium of the position.

Max Risk – The maximum potential loss of the position.

Max Reward – The maximum potential gain for the position.

Reward/Risk Ratio – The ratio of the max reward divided by the max risk.

Projected Price – The price of the spread on the trade closing date after applying the user-supplied underlying price and asset volatility change.

Projected Profit – The profit of the spread on the trade closing date after applying the user-supplied underlying price and asset volatility change.

Probability of Profit –The probability that an option spread will be profitable by a fraction of a penny or more. It considers the probability of the underlying moving to asset prices that cause the spread to become profitable.¹

Expected Value – The amount that the trader can expect to win or lose on average for each trade of the spread. The Expected Value is evaluated over an underlying price range of +/- 3 standard deviations. Throughout this range, the spread value at each underlying price is multiplied by the probability of the underlying moving to that price. Finally, all of the resulting products are added together to arrive at the Expected Value. The Expected Value may also be described as the Mathematical Expectation¹.

¹ The book The Mathematics of Options Trading by C.B. Reehl (ISBN 0-07-144528-5) was used as a reference for calculating the probability related columns. A specific trading example can be found on pages 123 – 129.

Pos Delta – The total Deltas of a position (single spread Delta * number of spreads in position * number of shares per contract).

Pos Rho – The total Rho of a position (single spread Rho * number of spreads in position * number of shares per contract).

Pos Theta – The total Thetas of a position (single spread Theta * number of spreads in position * number shares per contract).

Pos Vega – The total Vega of a position (single spread Vega * number of spreads in position * number of shares per contract).

Pos Gamma – The total Gammas of a position (single spread Gamma * number of spreads in position * number shares per contract).

Other available columns - listed alphabetically)

Pos Delta Close Date – The total Delta of the position on the trade closing date after applying the user-supplied underlying price and asset volatility change.

Pos Gamma Close Date – The total Gamma of the position on the trade closing date after applying the user-supplied underlying price and asset volatility change.

Pos Rho Close Date – The total Rho of the position on the trade closing date after applying the user-supplied underlying price and asset volatility change.

Pos Theta Close Date – The total Theta of the position on the trade closing date after applying the user-supplied underlying price and asset volatility change.

Pos Vega Close Date – The total Vega of the position on the trade closing date after applying the user-supplied underlying price and asset volatility change.

Probability of Loss – The probability that an option spread will sustain a loss by a fraction of a penny or more. It considers the probability of the underlying moving to asset prices that cause the spread to sustain a loss. See note ¹ above.

Qty – All spreads in the OptionStation Pro results grid are displayed on a one spread basis, therefore, the quantity is fixed at 1. Click Analyze to copy the spread to the Analysis tab. Once the spread is in the Analysis tab, quantity changes, spread analysis, and order placement can be performed.