Unusual Options Activity
Trades that stand out from the crowd
What Unusual Options Activity is for
The Live Options Flow page is the full tape: every print you are allowed to see, as fast as it arrives. Unusual Options Activity is the curated view: trades and patterns that score high against historical and cross-sectional norms, so you spend less time scrolling and more time on prints that often (not always) matter for positioning, events, or follow-up research.
Think of it as a priority queue for follow-up research. The page exposes an unusual score and user-facing classifications so you can sort and filter activity, then inspect the contract and market context yourself.
Availability: Gamma plan and higher.
How this page fits with the rest of the product
| You want to… | Start here |
|---|---|
| See every trade and build your own mental filter | Live Options Flow |
| Focus on scored unusual prints and alert taxonomies | This page (Unusual Options Activity) |
| Get notified when criteria match | Alerts Management |
| See flow on the chart | Terminal |
Suggested workflow: Use Unusual Activity to shortlist names, then open each symbol’s daily or historical analytics, news, and the full chain so you understand structure (single leg vs spread, hedge vs speculation) before you act.
The live stream
Above the alerts table, the Pause / Play button stops or resumes the live stream so you can read a row without it scrolling away. Filters narrow the table by symbol, premium, score, alert type, and more, and a date selector (Time Travel) lets you review a prior session’s alerts.
Saved Views: save a filter combination you use often as a named view and reapply it later.
Context used on the page
The visible classifications and score can reflect market context such as:
| Factor | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Size | Contracts that stand out versus normal activity for that option |
| Premium | Large dollar value relative to the symbol and expiry |
| Execution | Whether buyers or sellers appeared willing to cross the spread |
| Volume/OI relationship | Fresh volume that looks large compared with existing open interest |
| Timing | Concentrated activity in a short window |
| Historical context | Activity that differs from the symbol’s usual baseline |
| Order style | Sweeps, blocks, and other trade labels that help describe urgency or size |
| Strike and expiry selection | Clustering around notable strikes, expiries, or moneyness levels |
This is a user-level interpretation guide, not the scoring formula. The score can change as more session data becomes available.
Activity classifications
Each unusual trade is classified into one or more types. The main families:
| Family | Example types | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Whale trades | Large-premium or large-contract activity | An outsized print that deserves contract and event context |
| Directional momentum | Swift / steady / large bullish or bearish flow | One side of the tape pressing with urgency, persistence, or size |
| Aggressive execution | Aggressive call buying, aggressive put buying | Paying up at or above the ask for direction |
| Accumulation patterns | Consistent call buying, consistent put buying, repeated activity | The same trade signature recurring within a short window |
| Large single prints | Large call purchase, large put purchase, sweep orders | One outsized print worth a look on its own |
| Volume and volatility | Volume spike (size vs open interest), IV / volatility spike | New positioning or volatility expansion |
| Near-term activity | Short-term options activity (low DTE with size) | Positioning into an imminent event |
| Multi-leg structures | Vertical spreads, straddles, strangles, condors, unusual spreads | Defined-risk or volatility structures detected across legs |
| Statistical anomalies | Flow imbalance or contextual outlier | Prints that differ from the comparison context shown by the product |
The exact mix adapts by symbol and market conditions. A print that is routine for a mega-cap may be exceptional for a smaller name.
Unusual Score
The unusual score runs from 0 to 100 and is a relative priority indicator, not a probability of profit. Higher scores place an event higher in your review queue. Always compare the score with premium, expiration, volume/open interest, execution side, related legs, news, and the symbol’s normal activity.
Dashboard Metrics
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Bullish/Bearish Flow | % of unusual activity by direction |
| Volume Spikes | Count of volume spike alerts |
| Large Premium | Count of big dollar trades |
| Momentum | Intraday momentum % |
| Exp Pressure | % of alerts expiring soon |
Important Context
Not all unusual activity is directional. A high score means the activity deserves attention; it does not mean the buyer or seller will be right.
- A large put buy may hedge a long stock book, an index portfolio, or a short call position—not a simple bearish bet on the name.
- A large sale at the bid can be closing a long, opening a short, or unwinding one leg of a spread; the tape alone rarely proves which.
- You typically see one contract line; multi-leg packages may not resolve into a single clean narrative without chain and time context.
- ETFs and indices often dominate flow for macro hedging; filters like “No ETFs” exist so you can focus on single names when that matches your process.
Always cross-check: corporate calendar (earnings, dividends, splits), headlines, key prices from gamma exposure or your own levels, and whether realized vol is expanding or compressing.
Remember: Unusual activity is market intelligence, not a trading signal. Use it to ask better questions and allocate attention; combine it with risk limits, position sizing, and your own thesis before committing capital.
