Skip to main content

Option Screeners

Credit Spreads

Possibly the only multi-leg strategy that we will ever include are credit spreads. This is because sticking to the basics is usually best. Most of the other complex strategies are really just wasting your time.

1 Minute Overview!

Short Video Transcript

Credit spreads require very little capital and have a high probability of profit. They are very popular to trade and often help build up a smaller account.

If you think the stock will go up, sell a put spread. If you think it will go down, sell a call spread.

On the screener, you’ll sell strike1 and buy strike2.

You’ve also got:

The mark. mid-point between the bid and ask.

The days to expiration.

The implied volatility.

The approximated probability of profit.

The calculated break even price of the underlying at expiration; Compare this to pivot points or key levels on the daily chart.

Finally, you’ll see a news link that jumps you into our real-time news feed.

How is this useful?

Traders typically sell spreads to speculate on market movement. This is particularly popular with call spreads because it is otherwise not possible to sell call options without either buying 100 shares of the underlying, or placing a trade with unlimited risk to the upside.

What more could you ask for?

If you have something in mind, please let us know through the chat icon toward the bottom of the page.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Credit Spreads Full Walkthrough Video

A deep dive into Put and Call Credit Spreads - Full Explanation

Don't tread lightly here. Credit Spreads are a tough strategy that you have to pay attention to and take action on. So be sure that you've planned your strategy appropriately, that you have a target profit and target loss threshold where you'll exit the position and move on.

That said, a lot of investors use spreads to grow a smaller account. I think that is where they shine and for that purpose they are probably better than the Lottery Ticket 0DTE single leg options that have gained in popularity recently.

This screener includes a plethora of information, so I won't go into it all here, but here are some things to know. All of the spreads are 1 strike wide and it works like the other screeners in that it will find liquid, OOTM spreads that are the most expensive right now. You can adjust the spread to your preference, for example, you can move the long strike out to make it a wider spread if you're comfortable with that. Just pay attention to liquidity of the long strike.

We've also recently enhanced this screener with the ADX and RSI technical indicators so you can filter for spreads that are exhibiting a strong trend (ADX > 25).

Credit Spreads as Contrarian Trades - Often investors look for a stock that has made a big move and then they sell the options hoping to find the bottom and that the stock reverses direction, at least a little bit. An example of this would be selling a call spread on a stock that has reached top of channel and the investor looks for the stock to retrace to the downside.

All Symbols Included in the Credit Spreads Screener

  • All S&P 500 Constituents
  • All Nasdaq 100 Constituents
  • All Dow Jones Constituents
  • 11 SPDR Sector ETFs
  • SPY, DJI, QQQ, SPX, XSP, RUT
  • Select stocks requested by customers