Place an Option Order

 

The Place Option Order page was designed to help you quickly and efficiently place an option order. You can "Buy to Open," "Sell to Close," "Sell to Open" and "Buy to Close," and choose from a number of advanced order types such as Market, Limit, Stop Market, Stop Limit. You can also control Time In Force (DAY, GTC).

Open Orders, currently held Positions and account Balances can be viewed on this page.

NOTE: Options carry a high level of risk and are not suitable for all investors, and certain requirements must be met to trade options. Read the Options Disclosure Document before considering options trading.

 

Place an Option Order

  1. Select Place Option Order from the Trade drop-down menu.
  2. Click the "Buy to Open," "Sell to Close," "Sell to Open" or "Buy to Close" button.
  3. Enter the quantity of contracts you wish to trade and the option symbol.
    As a general rule, 1 contract is equal to 100 shares. Option symbols must be preceeded by a plus (+) sign.
  4. Select the type of order you wish to place from the "Order Type" drop-down menu (Market, Limit, Stop Market, Stop Limit).
    See Advanced Order Options for details.
  5. Set a Stop or Limit price if necessary.
    See Advanced Order Options for details.
  6. Select the Time In Force (TIF) for the Order (DAY, GTC).
    See Set "Time In Force" for information on these fields.
  7. Click "Send" to enter your pending transaction.
  8. An Order Verification page will pop up. Click "Place Order" to place the order and close the window.
    "Change Order" and "Cancel Order" options are also available on this page. 

  9. An Order Acknowledgement page will appear to confirm your order.

About Options

An option is a contract which gives the buyer the right to buy the underlying stock for a specific price for a set period of time. If the option is not exercised by this set date, it expires and no longer has value.

 

Once a position is opened ("Buy to Open" or "Sell to Open"), it can be exercised until it expires, unless a closing transaction ("Buy to Close" or "Sell to Close") is made. If a closing transaction is not made before the expiration date, one of two things occurs at that time. 1) If the option is "in the money" (for the contract holder, not the issuer), the option is exercised and shares are bought/sold for the agreed on price. 2) If, however, the option is "out of the money" (for the contract holder, not the issuer), the contract simply expires with no further action. Either way, the issuer (seller) keeps the premium.

Available Actions

The following actions are available on this page:

 

Click "Customize" -- Allows you to select a default "Watch List" and Index.

Click on a symbol -- Generates a detailed quote.

Click "Detail" -- Generates a detailed quote.

Click "Trade" -- Brings up a trading page and fills it with the stock symbol.

Click "Charts" -- Generates an Intraday Chart for the symbol.

Click "News" -- Brings up news headlines for the symbol.

Click "Chain" -- Generates a list of available options and quotes for those options.

Understanding the Data Fields

BALANCES
Account Equity The sum of Securities Value and Cash in your account.
Securities Value The Current Market Value (CMV) of all positions you currently hold.
Cash The cash or cash equivalent in your account available for trades. Funds must be settled before withdrawal.
Margin Reqmnts Minimum amount that a client must deposit in the form of cash or eligible securities in a margin account as spelled out in Regulation T of the Federal Reserve Board.
Daytrader Buying Power (DTBP) The amount available at the present to purchase additional securities. It is roughly 4-times your Excess Equity.
Excess Equity Uncommitted reserve equity. EE equals your Account Equity balance minus your Margin Requirement balance.

 

POSITIONS
Type "1" indicates a non-marginable cash purchase;
"2" indicates that the purchase was made in a margin account;
"3" indicates a short sale;
"S" indicates a straddle.
Symbol The publically traded company's registered stock symbol.
Last The price of the most recently executed transaction.
Change The difference between the Last price and the Previous Close price.
Qty Number of shares held for long positions, or sold short for short positions.
Average Price The price at which the security was transacted (purchased or shorted). If the same stock was transacted over time at different prices, the prices are averaged together.
Profit/Loss Profit or Loss. Calculated as the difference between Average Price and Market Value, excluding commission cost.
Market Value Current Market Value (CMV). During the Market session, CMV for long positions equals Quantity times the Bid and for short positions equals Quantity times the Ask. After Market close, both long and short market values are computed as Quantity times the Last price of normal market hours.

OPEN ORDERS
Date Date the order was entered.
Time Time the order was entered in Eastern Standard Time (EST).
Order Number Unique number associated with your order.
Symbol The publically traded company's registered stock symbol.
Qty Number of shares held for long positions, or sold short for short positions.
Transaction Type Type of order entered: Buy, Sell, or Sell Short.
Status Status of your order: Submitted, Routed, Executed, Expired, Done for Day, etc.
Limit Limit price if entered as a Limit order.
Order Type Type of order placed: Market, Stop Market, Stop Limit, Limit, etc.
Stop Stop price if entered as a stop order.
Time In Force Time In Force: GTC, GTC+, DAY, DAY+