You can select from a number of different options chain metrics to view within these 4 categories of metrics:

• Price metrics
• Volume metrics
• Implied volatility and probability metrics
• The Greeks

You can customize what metrics show in the chain settings for your options chain.

In-app

1. Go to an options chain
2. At top right, select Settings (gear icon)
3. Select either Focused or Side-by-side to toggle between viewing 1 or 2 sides of a chain
4. For Metrics, select which metrics to include depending on the selected view

To learn more about how to use these views, check out Options chains.

On web classic

1. Go to an options chain
2. Hover your cursor over the 2nd or 3rd metric heading to show the edit pencil
3. Select the metric heading to select a new metric from the list. Note that the first 2 metrics after strike price and the last column (price) can be customized

On Legend

1. Go to an options chain widget
2. You can drag a metric to reorder it in the list or select Menu (3 dots) to add or remove metrics from the widget

To learn more about how to use Options chains with Legend, check out Options chains.

The bid price is the highest price buyers in the market are willing to pay for an options contract. The ask price is the lowest price sellers in the market are willing to accept for an options contract. The bid price will always be lower than the ask price. Traders look at the bid/ask spread to determine the liquidity of the contract: the wider the spread, the less liquid the contract. The midpoint between the bid and the ask is the mark price. Check out What is a bid/ask spread to learn more.

The last price is the price the contract was last traded at. This isn’t necessarily what you should expect to pay or be paid for the contract. Traders may also look at the net change or % change, which measures the change from the previous day’s closing price (also called the previous close) to the mark price.

The high price and low price can also be useful to establish a range for options prices. These are the highest or lowest price the contract was traded at during the most recent trading day.

There are a few volume metrics traders use to evaluate liquidity, activity, and interest in an options contract.

Volume is the number of contracts that have been traded today. Volume is generally used to gauge the level of activity for a particular options contract.

Traders may also look at the bid size and ask size, which can help you measure the depth of interest from buyers and sellers. Bid size is the number of contracts buyers in the market are willing to buy at the bid price. Ask price is the number of contracts sellers in the market are willing to sell at the ask price.

Open interest is the total number of open contracts that are yet to be closed or exercised. This is one way to gauge the liquidity of an options contract: the higher the open interest, the more liquid the contract.

Traders can also use the following metrics to analyze contracts and better understand their potential return.

Intrinsic value reflects how far in-the-money an option currently is—essentially, its value if exercised today. Extrinsic value, or time value, is the portion of the option’s price not attributed to intrinsic value. Return on risk applies to puts and shows potential return relative to the risk taken. Return on capital, also for puts, measures capital efficiency by dividing maximum profit by the required capital. Covered return, which is relevant to calls, shows annualized extrinsic value as a percentage of the underlying. Max covered return, also for calls, assumes the asset is assigned. Probability of touching estimates the chance the strike price is hit before expiration.

Volatility can be calculated in a couple of ways: historical volatility and implied volatility. Options traders primarily use implied volatility, a statistical measure of the market’s expectation for future volatility of the underlying stock. Higher implied volatility (IV) means higher premiums, and vice versa (all else equal). Implied volatility per expiration date takes this a step further by measuring the market's expectation for volatility of the underlying stock before a specified expiration date. Check out Volatility explained to learn more.

When evaluating the price of an option, traders will consider the breakeven, the price the underlying stock has to reach for the contract to break even at expiration. For a call, this is the strike price plus the premium. For a put, this is the strike price minus the premium. The to breakeven % is the percent the underlying stock’s price (calculated using the mark price) must change to reach the breakeven price at expiration.

One of the simplest probability metrics is the chance of profit. This is the theoretical probability that the contract will be profitable at expiration (all else equal). For a call, this is the probability that the underlying stock’s price will be greater than the strike price plus the premium. For a put, this is the probability that the underlying stock’s price will be less than the strike price minus the premium. Chance of profit (long) represents the theoretical likelihood that a long position will generate at least $0.01 in profit. Conversely, chance of profit (short) indicates the theoretical probability of making at least $0.01 when holding a short position.

Some additional key metrics are Probability ITM which measures the likelihood that the contract will expire in-the-money (ITM), while Probability OTM reflects the likelihood that it will expire out-of-the-money (OTM).

These probability metrics are derived using the Black-Scholes and Bjerksund-Stensland models which are mathematical frameworks for pricing options and calculating probabilities.

Options Greeks can help you measure a contract’s sensitivity to various factors. The following are the 5 main Greeks – you can check out What are Options Greeks for more information.

Delta: A theoretical estimate of how much an option’s value will change if the underlying stock’s price increases $1.

Gamma: A theoretical estimate of how much an option’s delta will change if the underlying stock’s price increases $1.

Theta: A theoretical estimate of how much an option’s value will change for each calendar day that passes.

Vega: A theoretical estimate of how much an option’s value will change if implied volatility increases 1%.

Rho: A theoretical estimate of how much an option’s value will change if the risk-free interest rate increases 1%.

Robinhood Financial LLC doesn't guarantee favorable investment outcomes. The past performance of a security or financial product doesn't guarantee future results or returns. Customers should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing in options. Because of the importance of tax considerations to all options transactions, customers considering options should consult their tax advisor as to how taxes affect the outcome of each options strategy.