Optionable Stocks in 2025: Prices, Criteria, and How They Work

Thomas J Catalano, a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Registered Investment Adviser based in South Carolina, founded his financial advisory firm in 2018. His extensive expertise spans investments, retirement planning, insurance, and comprehensive financial strategies.

What Exactly Is an Optionable Stock in 2024?

An optionable stock refers to a publicly traded company’s shares that meet specific liquidity and volume standards, allowing exchanges to list options contracts for trading on that stock. To qualify as optionable, stocks must satisfy exchange-mandated criteria such as minimum share price, outstanding shares, and a required number of unique shareholders.

Key Insights

• Optionable stocks have listed options available for investors to trade.
• Exchanges enforce minimum standards for a stock to be deemed optionable.
• As of 2024, nearly 6,000 companies and hundreds of ETFs have optionable stocks.
• Non-optionable stocks present challenges for hedging and risk management.

Understanding the Importance of Optionable Stocks

Stocks that are optionable provide investors with the ability to buy or sell options contracts, granting rights to trade shares at predetermined prices. This feature offers flexibility for hedging, speculation, or income generation. However, not every publicly traded stock qualifies due to strict listing requirements.

Nearly 6,000 companies and several hundred ETFs currently have options available, making optionable stocks a vital part of modern trading strategies. For stocks lacking optionability, investors may resort to over-the-counter (OTC) options, which involve customized contracts through broker-dealers but come with less transparency and liquidity.

To verify if a stock is optionable, investors can visit the Cboe Options Exchange website or other reliable financial platforms that list available options contracts.

2024 Requirements for a Stock to Be Optionable

According to Cboe rules, a stock must fulfill these five essential criteria before options can be listed and traded:

1. The stock must be listed on a major exchange such as NYSE, AMEX, or Nasdaq — OTC stocks are excluded.
2. The stock's closing price must average a minimum of $3.00 per share for covered securities or $7.50 for non-covered securities over the past three months.
3. At least 7 million shares must be held by public investors, excluding insiders required to report holdings under Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act.
4. The company must have a minimum of 2,000 unique shareholders.
5. The average trading volume across all markets must be at least 2.4 million shares over the last 12 months.

If any of these criteria are unmet, options exchanges will not list options for that stock. Additionally, newly public companies must wait at least three months post-IPO before options trading can commence.

Important Notice

Investing in options involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or investment advice tailored to individual circumstances.

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