How to obtain quotes for stock options

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.

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

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

Method 2

1. On the Investing navigation bar, click Stocks.
2. 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.
3. Click the Options tab.
4. 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: 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.