stock option tracking software

Stock options are not quite the same as simple stock shares. Stock options are privileges to buy and sell shares at specific prices for given time periods. Before you invest in stock option tracking software, become familiar with the two kinds of options. Call options involve buying the right to buy a stock at, for example, $50 a share within a limited amount of time—even if the price of the stock goes up during that time frame. Put options let you sell stock at a specific price for a limited period of time.

Stock options are most common as employee benefits, where a company’s staff gets the right to buy stocks at a later time at specific per-share prices in call options. For traders, stock options are risky enough because put options become mostly useless if the share prices rise but valuable if they drop, whereby call options go the opposite way—they are worthless if the price drops but valuable if the price rises.

Enter stock option tracking software. These programs, usually on an analytical basis, help sellers and buyers make better option choices, reviewing particular options and telling the user based on the best available information whether the option is worth the purchase. These software programs also let you try strategies without too much risk to your stocks and helps you analyse numerous possibilities for your investments, according to numerous reviews. A lot of what you want in stock option trading software also depends on your personal stock objectives—whether you like taking big risks for bigger profits, or whether you prefer the small-but-certain, low-risk option profits.

That said, you can also invest in stock option accounting software to go in hand with your tracking and trading programs. This kind of software handles the complicated computations you must make to keep a firm finger on your stock options and your shares trading. And, you can invest in option administration programs to help you manage your portfolios efficiently and with far fewer mistakes.

But for simple, almost introductory free software, there is Stocktickr, described by one reviewer as part online personal stock tracker and part online community of stock enthusiasts. You can add stocks (individual and options) to a personal portfolio, assign tags, and let the program track your stocks’ performances and report individually by stock.

You can also have access to automatically-generated candlestick charts showing your entries and exits plotted in numerous time frames; enter your executions automatically from select brokers’ trade platforms; access aggregate reports showing you just where you make or lose money; and, find graphs that purport to show how you can keep consistent profitability, according to the Stocktickr Website.

There is also MarketBrowser.com, a free downloadable tool that allows you to track your stock investment activity including options on the same principle as a computer browser. This tool includes full charts and graphs, minimizable market bar, sources for news, stock quotes, research tools, and message boards, and includes a system tray icon facilitating unobtrusive ticker readings and the ability to bring up the full browser when you want it without interfering with your other computer functions.