Get Real-Time Updated Option Prices
To get live option prices in Excel, install the MarketXLS add-in and use its option functions: =QM_GetOptionChain("AAPL") returns an option chain for a stock, and =QM_Last(OptionSymbol("AAPL", ExpiryDate, "Call", 200)) returns the last price of one contract. Options data is real-time streaming on the Advanced and Business plans and end-of-day on the Standard plan. See real-time option pricing in Excel for setup details.
An option gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset at a specified price on or before a specified date. Because option prices change constantly, traders use live prices to value positions and react to the market.
Factors Affecting Option Prices
The price of an option changes constantly, as determined by the market, and is influenced by several variables. These variables include the underlying stock’s price, the strike price of the option, the time remaining until expiration, and the option’s volatility. Implied volatility (IV) is the volatility level that, plugged into a pricing model, produces the option's current market price. It reflects how much movement the market expects in the underlying. Higher IV means more expensive options, and investors use IV to judge whether an option is cheap or expensive and how risky a strategy may be.
Options Strategies
Options Strategies involve the combined purchase and/or sale of different options that can help you gain more out of your investment in the stock market. One of the most popular of these is the Long Straddle Strategy. This strategy involves buying both a call and a put option for the same asset, with the same strike price, and the same expiration date. This strategy can be used to benefit from both an increase and decrease in the asset’s price by the expiration date.
Other strategies, such as the covered call and the bull call spread, combine positions to change the risk and reward profile, for example capping upside in exchange for premium or a lower cost.
Calculating Profit/Loss
Options traders need to know the potential profit/loss for a given option in order to make an informed decision about their investment. There are several factors that are taken into consideration when calculating profits, including initial premium, ratio of options purchased/sold, stock price on the expiration date, and more.
The Options Profit Calculator provided by MarketXLS can be a helpful tool in calculating potential profit/loss. The Options Profit Calculator shows the estimated profit or loss of an option position across a range of underlying prices.
The Benefit of MarketXLS
MarketXLS puts option chains, contract prices, and Greeks into Excel, so you can build straddle, spread, and covered call models on current data instead of typing prices in by hand. Real-time streaming options data requires the Advanced or Business plan; the Standard plan provides end-of-day options data. Options tracking is limited to 300 symbols.
You can learn more on the real-time option pricing in Excel page and compare plans on the pricing page.
Here are some templates that you can use to create your own models
Short Butterfly Spread
Short Straddle Option Strategy
Strap Straddle
Strip Straddle
Relevant blogs that you can read to learn more about the topic
How Are Options Priced?
Using Marketxls To Find The Best Cash-Secured Put Option To Sell
Historical Option Prices
Real Time Stock Option Pricing In Excel (Any Version)
