Options Price Reporting Authority (OPRA)

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Options Price Reporting Authority (OPRA)

The Options Price Reporting Authority (OPRA) is a consortium of participating U.S. securities exchanges that consolidates and disseminates last-sale and quote information for listed options. Operating as a national market system plan, OPRA collects trade and quote data from member exchanges, standardizes it, and distributes it to brokers, trading firms, data vendors, and market participants.

How OPRA works

  • Participating exchanges send their options trades (last-sale reports) and real-time bid/ask quotes to OPRA.
  • OPRA consolidates these inputs and produces national market data feeds, including a combined quote that reflects the national best bid and offer (NBBO) for each options series.
  • OPRA operates two main services:
  • A basic service covering listed options (excluding foreign currency derivatives).
  • An FCO service dedicated to foreign currency options.

Who participates

Major U.S. options exchanges participate in OPRA, including (but not limited to):
* Cboe Options Exchange
* International Securities Exchange (ISE)
* Nasdaq BX Options
* NYSE Arca and NYSE American
* Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX)
* Boston Options Exchange (BOX)
* Miami International Securities Exchange

Primary data feeds

OPRA’s core feeds are:
* Trades — last-sale reports for completed options transactions.
* Quotes — real-time bids and offers submitted by exchanges.

These feeds enable the calculation of the NBBO and power options displays, trading systems, and market surveillance.

Reading options quotes (options chains)

Options data is commonly presented as an options chain — a tabular display of series for a given underlying security. Typical fields include:
* Option symbol and type (call or put)
* Expiration date and strike price
* Last trade time and last price
* Bid and ask
* Price change from the prior close
* Volume and open interest
* Implied volatility

Not all equities have listed options. For those that do, OPRA-delivered data is presented in a consistent, real-time format that traders and investors use for pricing, hedging, and decision-making.

Why OPRA matters

  • Centralizes and standardizes options market data, ensuring fair and consistent price discovery.
  • Supports liquidity and efficient markets by enabling participants to see the best national quotes.
  • Facilitates faster, more accurate trading and risk management across venues.

Key takeaways

  • OPRA aggregates and disseminates consolidated last-sale and quote data for listed U.S. options.
  • Its feeds (trades and quotes) enable the NBBO and power options chains used by traders and firms.
  • Reliable, consolidated options data from OPRA promotes liquidity, transparency, and market efficiency.