unusual options activity scanner thinkorswim

Maybe they are informed. In other words, if this trade is a stock substitution, where the trader is replacing the stock with calls then this trade is not as bullish as it first appears. To put this unusual options activity into perspective, on that same day, over 2.2M options in the SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) contracts traded. Those puts … rose by more than 366% in one single day. This means that if you see unusual options activity, it could be because a large hedge is taking place, as opposed to someone expressing a directional view. Transparent catalysts include events like the release of an earnings report, a product launch, or a dividend announcement. On a particular day, there were 6,738 calls of Delphi Technologies (DLPH) traded. There are two types of catalysts that can impact the stock market: transparent ones and unexpected ones. Delphi has earnings after the time of the unusual options activity. For these reasons and more, it makes the most sense for those institutions to buy options to reduce their short-term exposure versus actually selling their shares. Regardless, using unusual options activity data can be helpful in your decision-making process when you’re trading. What if you could legally steal some of the best ideas from the largest players on Wall Street? However, their daily average contracts are 3.8M. They may not be as large the the ones you find on Trade Flash, but you get to see which options are trading actively during the trading day. When activity on an option starts to look unusually high, it is a signal of unusual options activity. Let's Put This in Perspective. You must log in or register to reply here. At the time of the trade, the stock was trading at $17.50. Traders today keep a close eye on volume and of trades to see if someone thinks a big move is coming. Anyway to find nearest ITM option call for a given number, Display implied variance (impl vol squared) in option chain columns under trade tab, OI of 5k or less - Usually indicates fresh volume coming in or the part where Unusual comes from, Delta 0 -> 40 - You can fine tune this as you see fit. For example, here is what an options chart on Thinkorswim looks like: As you can see from the giant cyan (blue-green) volume bar, there were an unusual amount of options traded on the March 17.50 calls in Delphi, which is much higher than the fuchsia (pink) theoretical line on the graph would predict. It could be very well that this trader is playing the earnings event. Additionally, if those big institutions were to withdraw their investments, it could heavily impact the market. Sometimes these trades can go on for a long period of time. In other words, it’s not the size that matters, it’s the relative size. That said, buying calls is usually not as risky as holding a stock position before its earnings event. Optionsonar - Unusual Options Activity & Order Flow Scanner FlowAlgo - Options Flow & Unusual Options Activity Scanner TrendSpider - Technical Analysis Scanning, Backtesting, Alerts … Clearly, we are not dealing with a mom and pop trader here. Furthermore, Delphi has earnings after the date of the unusual options activity, and these calls that were bought cover the earnings date. I noticed that there is not very much information out there on the Options Hacker scanner for TOS. In other words, the trader was relatively aggressive because they bought near the asking price. Traders would simply take notice of an uptick in activity on the trading floors and other floor traders often piggybacked on those orders. However, when those trades do work, they often give the strongest rates of return. However, their daily average contracts are 3.8M. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. Unexpected catalysts are events that aren’t disclosed in advance and come out of nowhere, with no press announcement. With trading floors mostly gone today, that strategy no longer works. However, the spread on the trade was in $0.85 by $1.05. That’s why it’s so important to have a big picture view of a company, to know things about the company and what may be coming, versus relying on unusual options activity alone. Now, most trading platforms will provide options information like volume, open interest, the price range of the option strike. Running over 2.5 hours, this workshop shows the ins and outs of … I wanted to add a note of caution here and I'm not encouraging or discouraging anyone from pursuing any idea. OI is the open interest... its the amount of option contracts there were left open at the previous day's close. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. According to the rules of the game, every option trade that is placed (electronically, on or off the trading floor) must be reported and made publicly available. If you want to consider some paid scanners with additional features, some options to consider are: Like any indicator, scanning for unusual options activity doesn’t work 100% of the time. Lots of buzz around Unusual Option Activity (UOA) so thought I'll share out this scanner that I fine tuned for my personal use. Results may not be typical and may vary from person to person. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Bloomberg delivers business and markets news, data, analysis, and video to the world, featuring stories from Businessweek and Bloomberg News on … You see, there were rumors that the utility company would not be able to support itself after facing liability charges of $30B or more for recent deadly wildfires caused in California. A couple of minutes before the close on a Friday, a trader came in bought 4,674 PCG 12 puts for $1.00 per contract. If it took place below the midpoint or on the big, it’s usually seller-initiated.

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