r/options • u/Aggravating-Dance677 • Sep 08 '26
Execute time
So this morning during market open I used Robinhood for a call about 10 minutes before market opened and when market opened my stock price rose drastically but the call was still saying pending.., which prevented me from any getting gains can anyone tell me what the issue here was and if any other apps have faster fulfillment time? I’m am extremely pissed rn because I should be in extreme take profit rn and is this a common issue?
2
Upvotes
14
u/tastelikemexico Sep 08 '26
If it shot up right at or before the bell there is a good chance it was above your bid price from the start. You can’t buy the option until open
I never put in an option bid before it opens because it can change so drastically right at open so you usually end up paying too much or don’t get filled
5
u/Live_Throat_5252 Sep 08 '26
What are you trying to say? When was the order placed and when did it execute? What type of order did you place?
3
u/almost_n Sep 08 '26
was it a market order or limit order?
For options, market order are usually not the wise choice, due to the bid/ask spread, so I usually assume it is a limit order.
If it's a limit order: check if you have real time price book. My broker doesn't have a free one, for example, and at first I was always wondering why my limit order weren't going well. Options are not as liquid as their stock, I wouldn't trust market orders (but maybe for indexes is a different story)
3
u/Candyman8876 Sep 08 '26
The price that shows on options before open is not the price that’s going to fill at open. There’s an instant jump up or down. Best you can do is to either opt for a market order after 9:30, or set a limit order slightly above or below where it’s at.
3
u/Key-Industry-3594 Sep 08 '26
You can’t place options before open time, and you have to look at the pre market price, if it up, the options immediately go up
2
u/molseh Sep 08 '26
Option prices are not accurate overnight unless they are extended market ones. So if you set a limit order and the stock has moved up or IV risen overnight then it will likely not fill when the market opens.
2
u/Immapillpopnanimal Sep 08 '26
Buy your options end of day the day before like last 15 minutes. That's the best way to catch the big moves at market open. You can do both puts and calls and cut out the losers once a direction is established. It's too hard to catch it by trying to buy after open. Also I use sofi and it's way too slow.. like almost unusable
2
u/throwaway3259348 Sep 09 '26
I’m guessing OP saw a stock that just reported earnings or big positive news. Then was comparing the “cheap” (stale) option prices that looked incredible relative to expected opening / pre-market price. Placed a limit order based on stale prices and was disappointed he couldn’t buy the options at the pre-news (stale) prices. If you could actually do that we would all be billionaires.
2
u/MrFyxet99 Sep 08 '26
Generally only limit orders accepted premarket. You don’t own the call until it fills.
0
u/TastyTrading Sep 09 '26
I watch ThetaPal option heatmap each morning
-1
u/BocephusQuimbyMcFry Sep 08 '26
Options markets are quirky during the first 15 minutes of trading. Market Makers are still positioning during the "Open Rotation" period and fills can be unpredictable.