The Unusual Activity Monitor provides a per-ticker view of unusual options trading activity. Unlike the market-wide Block Monitor, which scans for large trades across all tickers, this tool focuses on a single underlying asset. It includes a Trading Summary that shows the overall call versus put volume balance and a chronological feed of individual transactions, giving you a complete picture of how options traders are positioning on the stock you are researching.

 On the Option Ticker Page (for example, 

), the Flows Monitor sidebar displays recent individual trades with details. This view is integrated into the ticker page alongside the option chain and other analysis tools rather than existing as a separate standalone page.

 Navigate to any ticker page, tap the Options tab, then select the Unusual Monitor sub-tab. The mobile version is the more feature-rich experience for unusual activity, with a dedicated Trading Summary panel and a full chronological feed.

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Mobile Unusual Monitor tab showing per-ticker unusual trades feed with Trading Summary panel

 The mobile version offers a more prominent and detailed unusual activity experience, including the Trading Summary panel at the top and a scrollable trade feed below. The web version presents the same data in a sidebar format alongside other tools on the ticker page.

How It Works (Mobile — Primary Experience)

At the top of the Unusual Monitor, a Trading Summary panel provides an at-a-glance sentiment read for the selected ticker:

A visual bar showing Call Volume versus Put Volume, with proportional coloring (green for calls, red for puts). This bar makes it immediately clear which side of the market is more active.

Total Call Volume and total Put Volume figures.

The number of individual call transactions and put transactions.

For example: "Call Volume 1.20M (1.01K times) | Put Volume 1.00M (782 times)" tells you that call volume exceeds put volume and that there have been more individual call transactions as well, indicating broad-based bullish activity rather than a single large trade skewing the numbers.

Below the summary, a scrollable feed lists each unusual trade in reverse chronological order. Every entry includes:

A Buy (green) or Sell (red) indicator showing which side initiated the trade.

The execution price of the option contract (for example, "@17.25").

The number of contracts in the trade (for example, "Size 25").

Days to expiration, displayed as a badge (for example, "DTE 77d")

The full contract specification — ticker, expiration date, strike price, and call or put designation (for example, "NVDA 0417 C 190").

 The total dollar amount of the trade (for example, "Transaction: 43.13K").

Classification labels such as floor, singleLeg, ITM, OTM, and others that provide context about how and where the trade was executed.

 Tap to save the trade to your watchlist for later reference.

The feed includes a time-period dropdown filter. The default view is "Last Month," with other options available to narrow or expand the window.

The Trading Summary gives you a quick directional read. If call volume significantly exceeds put volume, traders are leaning bullish on this ticker. If put volume dominates, sentiment is bearish or heavily hedged. Also pay attention to the transaction count — if call volume is high but driven by just a few trades, it may reflect one institution rather than broad consensus. High volume spread across many transactions suggests wider participation.

Look for clusters of large trades in the same direction within a short time window. Multiple large call buys appearing over the course of an hour suggest coordinated or convergent institutional interest. A single large trade could be a hedge or a one-off event, but a cluster is a stronger signal.

Use the Unusual Activity Monitor alongside the Flows Monitor Chart to determine whether the unusual activity on your selected ticker aligns with or diverges from broader market sentiment. A ticker showing strong bullish unusual activity while the overall market flow is bearish could indicate company-specific conviction — perhaps ahead of earnings or a product announcement.

Tags help you classify each trade. Trades tagged floor were executed on the exchange floor, which often points to institutional origin. The singleLeg tag confirms a directional bet rather than part of a multi-leg spread. ITM and OTM tags tell you whether the option had intrinsic value at the time of execution, which helps distinguish between speculative bets (OTM) and hedging or position management (ITM).

You open the Unusual Activity Monitor for NVDA. The Trading Summary shows 1.20M call volume versus 1.00M put volume across the day, with calls accounting for 1,010 transactions compared to 782 for puts. The call-heavy balance suggests a bullish tilt.

Scrolling through the feed, you notice three Sell orders for NVDA puts in the $190 strike range within the last hour. Each has a DTE of 77 days and a transaction value above $40,000. Selling puts is a bullish signal — the seller collects premium and is obligated to buy NVDA at $190 if the stock falls to that level, meaning they are comfortable owning shares at that price and expect it to stay above.

Combined with the call-heavy volume ratio in the Trading Summary, this pattern suggests strong bullish sentiment among institutional traders on NVDA. You might use this information alongside your own technical and fundamental analysis to inform a trading decision, or cross-reference it with the Flows Monitor Chart to see if the bullish flow has been building over multiple days.

Tips for Using the Unusual Activity Monitor

 Check whether unusual trades are occurring at strikes with high existing open interest. A large trade at a strike with already-elevated open interest may be adding to an existing institutional position, which strengthens the signal.

 The "Last Month" default gives you a broad view, but switching to a shorter window helps you focus on the most recent activity. If unusual trades are appearing today but were absent last week, something new may be driving the positioning.

 Cross-reference the call/put ratio from the Trading Summary with the Put/Call Ratio shown on the Market Trend cards in the Flows Monitor. If your ticker's ratio diverges sharply from the market average, it is exhibiting unusual sentiment relative to the broader market.

 — monitor per-ticker unusual trades and institutional flow.

Unusual Activity Monitor

The Flows Monitor is an intraday chart that visualizes aggregate options volume — broken out by calls and puts — alongside the underlying asset's price movement. It provides a bird's-eye view of how options flow is shifting throughout the trading day, making it easy to spot divergences between volume and price, identify sentiment shifts, and track the maximum pain level.

. The Flows Monitor occupies the top panel of the Options landing page. It is also available on individual Option Ticker Pages (for example, 

), where a sidebar shows recent individual trades alongside the chart.

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Web Flows Monitor showing SPY/QQQ/DIA/IWM ticker cards with intraday call and put flow chart, max pain line, Vol/Block toggle, and 1D/1W/1M timeframes

 Open the Market tab, then tap Options. The Market Trend section displays a simplified summary with key metrics for major index ETFs. The mobile version prioritizes quick readability over the full interactive chart experience.

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Mobile Market Trend section showing simplified flows view with C/P ratio and max pain for major index ETFs

The left sidebar pins major index ETFs for quick access: SPY, QQQ, DIA, and IWM. Each entry shows the current price, percentage change for the day, and a sparkline chart. Click any ticker to load its flow data into the main chart area. You can also search for and select any optionable ticker.

 The intraday price of the underlying asset.

 Aggregate call option volume at each time interval.

 Aggregate put option volume at each time interval.

 The price level at which the maximum number of option contracts would expire worthless. This is the theoretical point of least financial exposure for option sellers.

 "Vol" displays aggregate volume from all trade sizes. "Block" filters the data to show only block-sized trades, removing smaller retail orders and isolating institutional activity.

 Choose between 1D (intraday), 1W (one week), and 1M (one month) views to analyze flow on different horizons.

 Switch between a line chart and a candle chart for the price data.

 Filter the volume data to show only zero-DTE (zero days to expiration) options. This isolates the most short-term, speculative activity.

Above the chart, a summary bar shows the current price, percentage change, and the maximum pain value for the selected ticker and expiration.

The mobile experience presents swipeable cards for SPY, QQQ, DIA, and IWM. Each card includes:

A proportional call/put volume bar (green for calls, red for puts)

Individual call volume and put volume figures

Tapping a card navigates to that ticker's full detail page, where you can access the option chain and other tools.

When call volume significantly exceeds put volume, market participants may be positioning for upward movement in the underlying asset. When put volume dominates, the flow suggests bearish sentiment or active hedging. Neither signal is definitive on its own — context matters. A surge in put volume on a day with positive price action could indicate protective hedging rather than a bearish bet.

Maximum pain represents the price at which the total value of all outstanding options (both calls and puts) would cause the maximum financial loss to option holders and the minimum loss to option sellers. Stock prices often gravitate toward the maximum pain level as expiration approaches, particularly on weekly and monthly expiration Fridays. This tendency, sometimes called "pinning," occurs because market makers who have sold options may hedge in ways that push the stock toward that price.

The Vol view includes all trade sizes, giving you a complete picture of market activity. The Block view filters out smaller retail trades and shows only institutional-sized orders. Comparing the two can reveal whether institutional sentiment aligns with or diverges from overall market sentiment.

Suppose SPY is trading at $691 on a Thursday morning. The Flows Monitor shows steady, balanced call and put volume through the first hour of trading. Then, around 10:30 AM, a noticeable spike appears in call volume — the green bars surge while the stock price has barely moved. You switch to the Block view and see that the spike is driven by several large call purchases concentrated around the $695 strike.

This divergence between flow and price is worth noting. The options market is showing aggressive bullish positioning while the stock has not yet reacted. It could indicate that institutional buyers are positioning ahead of an expected catalyst — perhaps an afternoon Fed announcement or an upcoming earnings report. You might use this information to investigate further by checking the Block Monitor for details on those individual trades or reviewing the Unusual Activity Monitor on SPY's ticker page.

 If block flow is bullish but overall volume is mixed, institutional and retail sentiment may be diverging. Institutional flow tends to be a more reliable signal.

 to determine whether today's flow continues a multi-day trend or represents a reversal. A single day of bullish flow after four bearish days tells a different story than five consecutive bullish days.

 As expiration approaches, pay attention to whether the stock price is drifting toward the max pain level. If it is, options near max pain may behave differently than those far from it.

 Zero-DTE options carry unique dynamics — high gamma and rapid time decay — and filtering for them can reveal short-term speculative sentiment that gets lost in the broader volume data.

 — track real-time call and put flow alongside price action.

Flows Monitor Chart

The Block Monitor is a real-time feed of large options block trades detected across the entire market. Block trades are high-volume transactions typically executed by institutional investors — hedge funds, pension funds, proprietary trading firms, and other large market participants. Because these trades involve significant capital, they can signal directional conviction, hedging activity, or strategic repositioning that may precede meaningful price movement in the underlying asset.

Unlike the Flows Monitor Chart, which shows aggregate volume, the Block Monitor displays individual trades. This gives you granular visibility into exactly who is buying or selling, at what price, in what size, and for which contract.

. This is a dedicated full-page tool with comprehensive filtering capabilities.

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Web Block Monitor page showing full filters including date range, ticker, ITM/OTM toggles, and block trade entries with tags

 Open the Market tab, then tap Options and scroll to the Block Flows section. The mobile version shows a simplified list with Symbol, Volume, and Turnover columns.

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Mobile Block Flows list showing simplified view with Symbol, Volume, and Turnover columns

 The web version offers the full filtering suite, including date range, multi-ticker selection, trade type, moneyness, and time range filters. The mobile Block Flows view is a condensed feed showing the most notable recent block trades without advanced filters.

The main area of the page displays a chronological feed of block trades, with the most recent trades at the top. Each entry contains the following information:

 The exact time the trade was detected (for example, "Jan 30 11:42:56").

 A colored badge indicates whether the trade was a Buy (green) or Sell (red).

 The execution price and the number of contracts — displayed as "Price @ [amount], Size [number of contracts]."

The ticker symbol, expiration date in MMDD format, call or put designation, and strike price (for example, "GLD 0227 C 490" means a GLD call option with a $490 strike expiring February 27).

The number of days to expiration, color-coded for quick reference. Green indicates near-term expiration, and "DTE 0d" marks zero-DTE contracts.

 The total dollar value of the trade (for example, "Transaction: 27.50K"). This is calculated as the execution price multiplied by the number of contracts multiplied by 100 (since each contract represents 100 shares).

 Classification labels that provide additional context about the trade:

 — A straightforward single-leg trade, not part of a multi-leg spread.

— The option is in the money at the time of execution.

 — The trade was executed on the exchange floor, which often indicates institutional origin.

The web version provides a robust set of filters to help you narrow the feed to the trades that matter most:

 Select start and end dates to define the time window (for example, "Dec 30, 2025 -- Fri, Jan 30").

 A multi-select dropdown with search functionality. Selected tickers appear as colored badges at the top of the filter area, making it easy to see your active filters at a glance (for example, AAL, AAPL, ABBV, ABT).

 Toggle buttons for All, Call, Put, Buy, Sell, ITM, and OTM. These can be combined — for instance, selecting "Call" and "Buy" shows only call purchases.

 Preset time windows including Today, Last 3 Days, Last 5 Days, Last 10 Days, Last Month, or a custom date range.

The mobile experience presents a simplified list format optimized for quick scanning. Each row shows:

The ticker symbol with a Call or Put label

Turnover (total dollar value of the trade)

For example: "SLV PUT 20260206 91 -- Volume: 250.00 -- Turnover: 271.25K"

The mobile view does not include advanced filters. It automatically surfaces the most notable recent block trades based on size and recency.

Not all block trades carry the same weight. A block of 50 contracts is noteworthy, but a block of 2,000 contracts on the same strike is a far stronger signal. Focus your attention on the largest trades, especially those with transaction values in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.

 is a bullish signal. The buyer profits if the underlying stock rises above the strike price.

 is a bearish signal or a hedge. The buyer profits if the stock falls below the strike price.

 is more nuanced. It can be bearish (the seller expects the stock to stay flat or decline) or income-generating (covered calls against an existing stock position).

 is generally a bullish signal. The seller collects premium and is obligated to buy the stock if it falls below the strike — implying they are comfortable owning it at that price.

) suggest conviction about imminent price movement. The trader is paying for time value that will decay rapidly, which means they expect the move to happen soon.

 balance conviction with flexibility and are common around earnings dates and other scheduled catalysts.

 may represent strategic positioning, portfolio hedging, or accumulation. These trades give the thesis more time to play out.

 often indicate hedging, rolling existing positions, or adding to a position with less risk (since the option already has intrinsic value).

 are more speculative. The buyer is paying entirely for time value and extrinsic premium, betting on a move that has not yet occurred.

The dollar amount attached to a block trade reveals the conviction level behind it. A $50,000 transaction is a meaningful position for a retail trader but routine for an institution. Transactions above $500,000 or $1,000,000 represent substantial capital commitments that are worth monitoring closely.

You open the Block Monitor and notice a Buy block for "AAPL 0221 C 250" with Size 500, Transaction $2.1M, DTE 22d, tagged 

Someone purchased 500 call contracts on Apple with a $250 strike price, expiring in 22 days.

The trade is out of the money, meaning AAPL is currently trading below $250. The buyer needs the stock to rise above $250 (plus the premium paid) to profit.

At $2.1 million, this is a significant capital commitment on a single directional bet.

 tag confirms this is a straightforward call purchase, not part of a spread or complex strategy.

With 22 days to expiration, the trader expects the move to happen within roughly three weeks.

This is an aggressive bullish bet worth investigating further. You might check the Unusual Activity Monitor on AAPL's ticker page to see if other traders are making similar bets, or open the Flows Monitor Chart to see whether aggregate call volume on AAPL has been trending higher.

 to focus on stocks already on your watchlist. This reduces noise and keeps your attention on the names you know best.

Compare block activity with the Flows Monitor Chart

 for the same ticker. If a large block trade appears in isolation but aggregate flow is quiet, the trade may be a hedge rather than a directional bet. If the block aligns with a broader flow trend, the signal is stronger.

 A single block trade could mean anything — a hedge, a roll, a one-off bet. But multiple blocks in the same direction on the same ticker within a short window amplify the signal significantly. Three separate institutions buying calls on the same stock within an hour is more meaningful than one.

If you see a surge in near-term blocks (0-7 DTE) on a specific ticker, there may be a catalyst approaching — earnings, an FDA decision, a scheduled economic report, or another event that the options market is pricing in.

 — scan market-wide block trades with advanced filters.

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