Options Symbols

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Mini options let you buy or sell contracts on a select group of high-priced securities for a lower total investment amount. They represent a deliverable of 10 shares instead of the typical 100 shares for standard options.

Eligible underlying securities for mini options are determined by the exchanges and regulatory authorities. Currently, these securities are:

Underlying Equity/ETF Option Root Symbol
Apple AAPL7
Amazon AMZN7
Google GOOG7
SPDR Gold Shares SPY7
SPDR S&P 500 Trust DIA7

Note that the mini sized options have a "7" following the root equity symbol in most cases. Its possible this character could be different if the option changed.

The option symbol is made up of the following elements

Security Symbol
The security symbol will have a maximum of 5 characters and may contain digits.
In those instances where there is a 5 character underlying with a corporate
action, the symbol will be converted into a 5 character symbol.

Expiration Year
The expiration year will have a maximum of 2 digits (example: year 2009 = 09)

Expiration Date
The expiration date will have a maximum of 2 digits.

Expiration Month
The expiration month is a single character code and represents month/put/call.
Month Codes
 
Options
Month
Calls
Puts
January
A
M
Feburary
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

Strike Price
The strike price will have a maximum of 7 characters with leading/trailing 0s
trimmed and decimal point included if necessary

Here are some examples of the current options symbol format.

SYMBOLDESCRIPTION
CSCO1220V19Cisco October Put at 19.00 Expiring on 10/20/12
AMZN1017D110Amazon April Call at 110.00 Expiring on 04/17/10
MSFT1220J30.5Microsoft October Call at 30.50 Expiring on 10/20/12