Open interest report
Contracts ranked by open interest with the day-over-day change against the previous trading session, premium, break-even and Greeks.
Overview
The Open interest report ranks option contracts by open interest - the number of contracts that exist and have not been closed. Large open interest shows where positions are concentrated; the OI change columns show where positions were added or closed since the previous session.
The data delay depends on your plan and is shown on every view: the as-of time and the delayed label sit above the results. On the Free plan reports show the previous session.
How the report is built
- Only contracts with open interest greater than 0.
- Sorted by open interest, then volume, then strike. Top 5 per symbol when every symbol is selected.
- OI Δ and OI Δ % compare with the previous trading session close (so Monday is compared with Friday).
Before you start
Any signed-in plan can open the report from Research → Reports. Your plan decides how fresh the data is and how much history you can read. CSV export needs a plan that includes it.
Steps
- Open Research → Reports, choose the Open Interest family (or type "Open interest" in Search reports) and open Open interest.
- The report runs straight away with its default filters. The as-of time and delayed label are shown above the grid.
- Change any filter (for example pick one symbol) and press Run to refresh the grid.
- Choose Save as screen to keep your variant under Research → Saved Screens, where you can schedule it or turn it into an alert.
- Use Export CSV to download the rows (plans with CSV export).
Columns and metrics
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| Symbol | The underlying stock or ETF. |
| OI | Open contracts as of the prior settlement. |
| Prev OI | Open interest at the close of the previous trading session (the baseline). |
| OI Δ | Open interest minus the previous session's open interest, in contracts. |
| OI Δ % | (OI - previous OI) / previous OI. |
| Volume | Contracts traded so far this session (cumulative, as of the snapshot time). |
| IV | Implied volatility, annualised. Shown as a percentage (0.35 is stored, 35 % is displayed). |
| Expiration | The contract expiration date. |
| Strike | The strike price of the contract. |
| C/P | Call or put. |
| Mark | Bid/ask midpoint, per share. This is the premium the reports use. |
| Premium | Mark x 100: the price of one standard contract in USD. |
| Break-even | Per share: strike + mark for a call, strike - mark for a put. The price the stock must reach at expiry for a buyer to break even. |
| Und. Price | The latest price of the underlying stock. |
| Delta | How much the option price moves for a $1 move in the stock (calls 0 to 1, puts 0 to -1). |
| Gamma | How fast delta changes for a $1 move in the stock. |
| Theta | Time decay per calendar day, per share. Negative for a long option. |
| Vega | Price change for a 1-point change in implied volatility. |
| Rho | Price change for a 1-point change in interest rates. |
| Extracted | When the snapshot behind the row was captured (US Eastern). |
| ITM/ATM/OTM | In, at or out of the money, worked out from the strike against the stock price. |
Percentages are stored as fractions and displayed as percentages (0.05 is shown as 5 %). An unknown value shows as "-", never as 0.
How to read it
- Open interest is reported as of the prior settlement, so it changes once a day, not intraday.
- A large positive OI Δ means many new contracts were opened. A large negative value means positions were closed or exercised.
- Strikes with very large open interest often act as reference points traders watch near expiration.
Example
Illustrative only - the symbol and numbers are invented.
XYZ 20 December 100 put: OI 45,000, Prev OI 40,000, OI Δ +5,000, OI Δ % +12.5 %, Volume 9,000, IV 30 %, Mark 2.40, Break-even 97.60.
Using it in your research
- Map where open interest is concentrated for a symbol before an event, by expiration and strike.
- Watch whether open interest at a strike keeps growing over several sessions.
- Compare with Daily volume: high volume with flat OI often means traders closed positions they already had.
Treat every row as a starting point for your own research, not as a signal. Volume and open interest never say whether a trade was a buy or a sell.
FAQs
Why do I see only five contracts per symbol?
With every symbol selected the report keeps the top 5 contracts of each symbol so one busy chain does not fill the page. Pick a single symbol to list every contract of that symbol.
Does a big change mean someone bought?
No. Volume and open interest count contracts; they never say which side started the trade. A rise in open interest means new positions were opened, by buyers and sellers together.
Troubleshooting
OI Δ shows "-"
The contract had no row in the previous session (for example a newly listed strike), so there is no baseline.
The report shows "No Records Found"
The filters may be too narrow for the session, or the session has only just opened. Widen a threshold, clear the symbol, or check the as-of time to see which session you are reading. On the Free plan you read the previous session.