With the OptionsFirst Probability Calculator, you can enter price targets for a symbol and calculate the probability of an underlying symbol reaching your targets by a future date. When you choose as symbol and price target, you also have the ability to configure other market conditions including implied volatility, interest rate, dividend date, dividend amount and more.

To get started, log in to your OptionsFirst account, go to the Tools tab and choose Probability Calculator.

Josh Sampson, OptionsFirst Education Specialist

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Detailed information on our policies and the risks associated with options can be found in the Scottrade OptionsFirst Options Application and Agreement, Brokerage Account Agreement,and by downloading the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options and Supplements (PDF) from The Options Clearing Corporation, or by requesting a copy from your local branch office. Market volatility, volume, and system availability may impact account access and trade execution. Supporting documentation for any claims will be supplied upon request.

Charts on the Market Overview and Summary pages for stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds have HTML code attached so you can copy the code and paste it in another online source to embed the chart you created. Embedding charts gives you the ability to provide visual aids while discussing strategies and risks with other investors.

To embed a chart from the Market Overview page or one of the Summary pages, click the Embed Chart button located below the performance chart on your screen.

To copy a performance chart:

1. Highlight the text displayed in the expanded Embed Charts box.

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2. Right-click your mouse on the highlighted text and choose Copy from the action menu.

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1. Click your mouse on the location in which you want to insert the performance chart.
2. Right-click your mouse and choose Paste from the action menu.

Note that you can also copy and paste by holding down the Control (Ctrl) key and hitting "C" for copy and "P" for paste.

Amy Walther

A cash-secured put is when you sell to open a put contract, taking on the obligation to purchase the underlying stock at the strike price of the put sold. The dollar amount required to purchase the shares at the strike price will need to be held in your account at the time of the put sale. This type of trade is available on the OptionsFirst platform; visit options.scottrade.com to learn more about OptionsFirst.

Customize the Quick Links box in the top right corner of your account home page to bookmark your favorite account features. The Quick Links box has been programmed with links to popular Scottrade tools and pages including screeners, account statements, comparison tools and the order entry pages. Choose which links to display in your Quick Links box based on your preferences. Check out Edit Quick Links Display to learn how to get easy access to your favorite account features.

Oscar Pineda-Madrid

Scottrade Trading Analyst

When you write a covered call, you are selling a call option on stock that you own. You are short that call option, meaning you would need to buy back the obligation if you wanted to liquidate the position. The negative market value represents the amount you would have to pay to close out the position. This holds true for any short option positions, not just covered calls.

Josh Sampson

OptionsFirst Education Specialist

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Detailed information on our policies and the risks associated with options can be found in Scottrade's Options Application and Agreement, Brokerage Account Agreement, and Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (available at your local Scottrade branch office or from the Options Clearing Corporation at 1-888-OPTIONS or by visiting www.optionsclearing.com). Market volatility, volume, and system availability may impact account access and trade execution. Supporting documentation for any claims will be supplied upon request.

The information stored by your browser may have been reset when you first accessed the redesigned Scottrade.com. If you had previously saved your Scottrade account password to your window settings, it will no longer appear automatically. If you have forgotten your password, follow these easy steps to choose a new password.

1. Go to www.scottrade.com and click the Forgot Password link below the login portal. View Graphic
2. Enter your account number and the email address associated with your account in the fields provided.
3. Once you have provided the necessary information, click Continue. An email containing instructions for completing the password reset process will be sent to the email address you provided within five minutes.

If you no longer use the email address associated with your account, contact your local branch office for help resetting your password and updating your contact information so that you stay in the know with information relevant to your account. For information related to online security and password safety, check out Fight Cybercrime: Protect Yourself in the KnowHow News archives.

Sarah Robinett

Scottrade Marketing Websites Manager

Bid and ask prices are the price at which you can sell the option (bid price) and the price at which you can buy the option (ask price). But where do these prices come from? These bid/ask prices are set by existing buy (bid price) and sell limit orders (ask price). These orders are typically entered by professional market makers whose job it is to maintain a two-sided market (listed bid and ask price) for the issue; however, any trader can set the bid or ask price, even you.

Let's look at an example. The price of the option is bid $2.00₍₁₀₀₎ X $2.10₍₁₀₀₎ ask. This means that there is a limit order to buy 100 contracts at $2.00 and one to sell 100 contracts at $2.10. Let's say you enter an order to buy 10 contracts for $2.05. The order will not be executed because the best price someone is willing to sell the contract for is $2.10. Because of this, you now become the person with the best buying price. The bid/ask spread will change to reflect your order and will look like this: bid $2.05₍₁₀₎ X $2.10₍₁₀₀₎.

Typically, market makers want to set their prices as competitively as possible (small bid/ask spread) so more orders come to them. They will increase or decrease their price based on market conditions as well as positions they have on their books. The market makers do not want to hold large positions and typically try to keep relatively market-neutral, relying mainly on profits from order flow and the difference between their bid/ask spreads.

Through this constant buying and selling, a market maker can end up with large positions that need to be unwound to a market neutral position. Let's say they notice that they own too many of a particular contract. To reduce their position risk, they will want to sell more of that particular contract. To do this, they will set their bid/ask prices lower, which entices other participants to buy from them and at the same time discouraging sellers from adding to their long position.

Josh Sampson

OptionsFirst Education Specialist