The Options Summary Page provides you with options chain data for an underlying symbol. Options data is categorized based on expiration dates. Options contracts that are in-the-money have a light green background whereas those that are out-of-the-money (OTM) have no background color.
There are different ways to access the Options Summary page. The easiest way is from the Charts & Tools tab. Scroll down to the Summary Pages and select Options. Enter the stock symbol and click Go.
Let's start with the List View, which segregates call and put data with call data listed first.
The options chain is displayed as a table where you have the contract, last trading date, the strike price, last traded price, the bid, ask, change in price, the %change in price, volume, and open interest. The data can be sorted by each of the columns.
How is this data useful? If you're interested in trading calls or puts, either via covered calls, cash-secured puts, or protective puts then the list view may be helpful since you're only focused on OTM puts and calls. Scroll down to the OTM options for your analysis.
If you're considering trading options spreads, you may prefer the Straddle View, which displays call and put data side by side, arranged by strike prices.
Even if you don't trade options, you can still view the options data on a stock you're considering adding to your portfolio. Open interest and volume give you an idea of which options have the most activity. You could also look at volume prior to an earnings announcement to get an idea of the sentiment surrounding the specific stock.
StockCharts members can add the options data to their CharLists and/or create alerts based on options price action.