Reading & Interpreting Unusual Flow

Above-Average Volume or Premium: A trade size or dollar amount significantly larger than that stock’s typical activity.

Time & Context: Option orders placed right before earnings, major news, or during heavy market volatility can be particularly telling.

“Smart Money” Footprints: Large institutions (hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds) often have resources and research that retail traders don’t. When they make a big move, it can signal strong conviction.

Early Warning: Sometimes big sweeps or blocks show up before a major announcement—revealing a potential directional move.

High Premium Filter: Look for trades flagged as “High Premium,” “Unusual,” or with a premium significantly above the norm for that ticker.

Vol/OI Ratio: If Volume far exceeds Open Interest or the stock’s average volume, it may hint at new positions opening with urgency.

Dollar Commitment: A premium of $500k or $1M+ on a single trade suggests the trader is willing to risk substantial capital.

Lower Probability vs. High Payout: Sometimes, large premiums go into OTM options with short expiration, reflecting a “high risk, high reward” approach.

Premium Column on UnusualFlow: Sort or filter by premium to quickly see the biggest bets.

Time of Day: Large trades near market open might signal new positions in response to overnight news; near market close, they might hint at event-driven plays (e.g., earnings after the bell).

Context Is King: Is the trader buying or selling those options? Buying often implies directional conviction; selling might signal a belief the stock won’t move much.

Follow-Up Activity: High premium buys sometimes precede additional sweeps—an escalation that can confirm strong institutional sentiment.

Volume: Number of contracts traded in a session. A sudden spike can signal unusual interest.

Open Interest (OI): Total number of active contracts that remain unclosed or unexercised.

Volume-to-Open Interest (Vol/OI Ratio): A ratio above 1.0 suggests that more contracts traded in a single session than existed before, pointing to newly opened positions.

Percentage OI Change: Comparing OI from one day to the next can reveal if traders are adding or closing positions.

Historical Data: Use UnusualFlow’s historical views to see how current volume compares to past weeks/days.

Filter by Vol/OI: Find trades with a Vol/OI ratio above a threshold (e.g., 2x or 3x) to isolate only the most striking activity.

Massive Volume with Rising OI: Often signals fresh positions being added. If these are calls, it could be a bullish sign; if puts, a bearish one.

High Volume but Flat or Falling OI: Could mean existing positions are rolling over or closing, so the net new positioning may be less impactful.

Cutting Through Noise: With thousands of options trades each day, filters help you focus on the subset most relevant to your strategy.

Customization: Tailor your view by ticker, option type, premium size, expiration range, etc.

Creating a Filter: Select your criteria in the filter panel (e.g., Premium > $200k, Expiration < 30 days, Volume > OI).

Save & Name: Most versions of UnusualFlow allow you to name and save this configuration, making it easy to re-access.

Combine Multiple Criteria: For example, searching for “High Premium + Short DTE + Sweep Orders + Bullish Sentiment” can laser-focus on urgent, big-money bets.

Repeat Trades: When a trader or institution places similar trades (e.g., buying the same calls) over multiple days/weeks.

Rollover: Moving an existing position from a near-term expiration to a future expiration—usually closing the original contracts and opening new ones at the same or different strike.

Confidence or Adjustment: Repetitive buying at the same strike can signal strong conviction. Rolling a position might indicate they still believe in the thesis but need more time or a different strike.

Avoiding Expiration Risk: Large traders often roll to preserve gains or maintain a strategic stance without letting options expire worthless.

Historical Comparison: Check if the same ticker/strike appears repeatedly in the flow over days.

Rising OI for New Expiration: If OI suddenly shifts from a soon-to-expire contract to one further out, it could be a rollover.

Partial vs. Full Roll: Sometimes you’ll see a trader closing half their position and rolling the other half to a new strike/expiration.

Bullish/Bearish Persistence: Consistent call buying or put buying indicates unwavering sentiment.

Strategic Adjustment: A rollover at a higher or lower strike might signal changing expectations about the stock’s price path.

Unusual Options Activity often hints at big institutional moves or event-driven trades.

Spotting High Premium helps you identify serious capital commitments and possible conviction plays.

Comparing Relative Volume & OI clarifies whether positions are new, closing, or rolling over.

UnusualFlow Filters & Custom Settings streamline your process, letting you zero in on the trades most relevant to your strategy.

Tracking Repeat Trades & Rollovers reveals whether “smart money” is doubling down or shifting tactics.