Unusual volume report
Contracts trading more than twice their 20-session average volume and more than their open interest, ranked by relative volume.
Overview
The Unusual volume report flags contracts whose activity today is far above normal for that contract. A contract qualifies when its session volume is more than 2 x its 20-session average volume and more than its open interest.
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
- Unusual = volume > 2 x 20-session average AND volume > open interest.
- A contract needs 20 sessions of history before it can qualify; newer contracts are left out rather than guessed.
- Sorted by relative volume (volume / 20-day average). Gross activity only - no direction is inferred.
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 Volume family (or type "Unusual volume" in Search reports) and open Unusual volume.
- 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. |
| Expiration | The contract expiration date. |
| Strike | The strike price of the contract. |
| C/P | Call or put. |
| Volume | Contracts traded so far this session (cumulative, as of the snapshot time). |
| Avg volume (20d) | Average session-close volume of the last 20 sessions. |
| Rel Vol | Session volume / 20-session average volume. 2.0 means twice the usual activity. |
| Volume vs 20d avg % | (volume - 20-day average) / 20-day average. |
| OI | Open contracts as of the prior settlement. |
| Vol/OI | Session volume divided by open interest. Above 1 means more contracts traded today than were open. |
| Premium | Mark x 100: the price of one standard contract in USD. |
| Und. Price | The latest price of the underlying stock. |
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
- Rel Vol 5.0 means five times the usual daily volume.
- Vol/OI above 1 means more contracts traded today than were open at the start of the day.
- Volume vs 20d avg % of 400 % is the same information as a relative volume of 5.0, expressed as a change.
Example
Illustrative only - the symbol and numbers are invented.
XYZ 21 December 120 call: Volume 6,000, Avg volume (20d) 1,000, Rel Vol 6.0, OI 4,000, Vol/OI 1.5, Premium $85, Und. Price $104.
Reading: six times the usual activity and more contracts traded than were open - a contract worth a closer look, not a trade signal.
Using it in your research
- Use it alongside Research → Insights, which scores unusual activity across several signals.
- Check the next session's open interest: if it rose by a similar amount, the volume opened new positions.
- Look for repeated unusual days in the same strike rather than single spikes.
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
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
A contract with a huge spike is missing
It may not have 20 sessions of history yet, or its volume may still be below its open interest.
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.