Unusual Options Activity: Where the Flow Is Going

Unusual options activity means a contract’s volume spikes abnormally — often used to read where flow and sentiment are pointing. A key tell is the volume/open-interest ratio: well above 1 means a lot of new positions opened today rather than old ones changing hands, which is more notable.

Tickwind scans heavily-traded options market-wide, ranks by single-contract volume, and shows call/put, strike, expiry and the volume/OI ratio. Options are leveraged and unusual flow isn’t necessarily “smart money” — it’s a sentiment window, not advice. Data is ~15-min delayed from Cboe.