Money flow history chart
Chart one symbol's approximate options money flow, total, call and put option volume and stock price session by session over a date range.
Overview
The Money Flow Historical chart shows, for one symbol, how much money approximately flowed through its options each session, how many option contracts traded (in total, calls and puts) and where the stock price closed the session. It answers "how does today's options activity in this symbol compare with its own recent history?"
Money flow is a proprietary approximation of the dollars traded through a symbol's options, built from snapshot premium and volume. It is not a record of executed trades. The formula is in Reports explained.
The data delay depends on your plan and is shown on every view; this chart's subtitle reminds you that money flow is an approximation from delayed data.
Before you start
- The chart is part of Research → Charts, shown on plans that include advanced analytics.
- The earliest date you can chart depends on your plan's history allowance; an older start date is moved forward to the earliest allowed session. On the Free plan the latest session is the previous session's close.
Steps
- Open Research → Charts and choose Money Flow Historical.
- Type or pick a symbol in the symbol box.
- Adjust Start date and End date if you want. The default range is the last 30 days.
- Press Generate. Five charts appear, one per measure.
- Drag the slider under any chart to zoom; press Reset zoom to see the whole range again.
Columns and metrics
| Chart | What it means |
|---|---|
| Total Traded Amount | Approximate money flow for the session in US dollars: premium x volume x 100, summed over every call and put of the symbol. |
| Total Option Volume | Calls plus puts traded in the session. |
| Total Call Volume | Call contracts traded in the session. |
| Total Put Volume | Put contracts traded in the session. |
| Stock Price | The underlying's price for the session. |
Each point is one session, oldest on the left.
How to read it
- Compare a symbol with itself. A traded amount that is several times the symbol's typical session stands out more than a large absolute number on a symbol that always trades heavily.
- Split calls from puts. If Total Traded Amount jumps, check whether Total Call Volume or Total Put Volume drove it. The put share of volume is a rough gauge of how much of the activity was in puts; it does not tell you whether those puts were bought or sold.
- Line it up with price. Read Stock Price for the same sessions to see whether heavy options activity came before, during or after a price move.
- Volume alone does not show direction. A large traded amount can be opening or closing trades, buying or selling.
Example
Illustrative data only. For XYZ over 30 sessions, Total Traded Amount sits between about 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 USD most days, then one session shows about 6,000,000 USD. On that session Total Call Volume is 30,000 against a usual 8,000 while Total Put Volume is unchanged, and Stock Price moves from 50 to 52 over the next three sessions. The chart shows a call-heavy spike in activity; it does not tell you why or what happens next.
Using it in your research
- Was today's spike unusual? Compare the latest session with the rest of the range before reacting to a large number on a leaderboard.
- Where did the activity come from? After a spike, open the money flow by strike report for that session to see which expirations and strikes carried the traded amount (Money flow by strike).
- Did open interest follow? Use the Open interest, volume and stock price chart to check whether the volume left new open positions behind.
- Track a watchlist name. Re-run the chart for symbols on your watchlist each week to see whether their options activity is rising or fading.
FAQs
How is this different from the Money Flow Historical report?
The report shows the same daily figures as a table with a CSV export (on plans with exports). The chart shows them as lines with zoom. See Money flow history report.
Why does money flow here differ from another site?
It is an approximation from delayed snapshot premium and volume, not a sum of executed trades, so totals from other sources will differ.
Troubleshooting
"Please select Symbol"
Press Generate only after choosing a symbol from the symbol box.
"Start Date should be less than or equal to End Date"
The start date is after the end date. Swap them and press Generate again.
The chart is empty or says "No records found"
No daily summary was stored for that symbol in the range. Widen the range, or check that the symbol has listed options. A message about your plan means the range is outside your history allowance or, on the Free plan, includes the current session.