Options Flow Explained: How to Spot Unusual Call and Put Activity

Learn how to read options flow, identify unusual Call and Put activity, and understand volume, open interest, premium, sweeps, blocks, strikes, and expirations with an options flow scanner.

What Is Options Flow?

Options flow is a method used for analysing the buying and selling that occurs in the options market. Rather than merely looking at a stock's price chart, traders look at the individual option contracts that are traded, including Calls and Puts, the strike prices, the expiration dates, the volume, the premium, and all other trade details. The aim is not just to note that an option has been traded, but to identify where activity is unusually heavy and to decide whether that kind of activity shoul…

Why Is Options Flow Important?

The options markets have become very active. In the second quarter of 2026, Cboe stated that the average daily volume of U.S. listed options reached 72.8 million contracts, which is more than 19% higher than the previous year. Moreover, its latest market figures indicated that over 69 million contracts were traded on the U.S. options markets on September 25, 2026, even though the data shown is delayed. Given the level of activity involved, it is difficult to go through each contract by hand. Tha…

What Is Unusual Options Activity?

Unusual options activity usually means options trading that differs markedly from the typical activity for a given underlying asset, option series, or trading period. There is no one universal definition that determines a transaction to be "unusual" since the context is important; what appears to be a huge trade for a small stock may be completely normal in the case of a highly liquid index ETF, and a seemingly modest transaction can be significant in a thinly traded contract. A number of featur…

The Main Signs of Unusual Activity

A trader researching unusual options flow may look for: Volume that is unusually high compared with recent activity. Large premium transactions. Trade sizes that stand out from typical orders. Significant activity at a specific strike. Concentrated activity around a particular expiration. Repeated transactions in the same option series. Sweep or block transactions. A notable difference between Call and Put activity. Volume that is large relative to existing open interest. Activity occurring alon…

How to Spot Unusual Call Activity

Unusual call trading takes place when there is trading activity in call options that differs from their usual pattern, and c alls give the holder the right to buy the underlying security at the strike price subject to the terms of the contract. When traders are studying call option flow, they usually look at a number of pieces of information at the same time. It is interesting to note a high call volume, especially if it is concentrated at one or a few strike prices. Large premiums can also draw…

A Simple Call Flow Example

Picture the price of Stock ABC at $100. The $110 Call option, which expires in 30 days, usually sees only a few hundred contracts traded each day. On one afternoon, however, 5,000 contracts were traded, which is a great deal more activity than is typical. A trader using an options flow scanner might investigate the transaction and ask: Was the trade executed near the bid, ask, or somewhere between them? How much premium was involved? Was the transaction a sweep or a block? How does the 5,000-con…

How to Spot Unusual Put Activity

Unusual put activity functions in a very similar manner. With a put, the holder has the right to sell the underlying security at the strike price as specified in the contract. A trader who is looking at put option flow might search for unusually high put volume, large premiums, substantial trade sizes, repeated activity, or trading that is concentrated around a specific strike and expiration date. Sweeps of puts and block trades can also attract attention. It does not follow that a big put trans…

A Simple Put Flow Example

Let us assume that Stock XYZ is trading at $80 and that its $75 Put option, which expires in 45 days, is generally not very active; however, 4,000 contracts trade suddenly. That may seem unusual. A trader could look at the premium, the execution price, the current open interest, the size of the trade, the expiration date, and whether similar Put transactions had taken place. They could then compare the options activity with XYZ's price movements, its volatility, any upcoming events, and the gene…

Key Metrics to Watch in Options Flow

It is easier to read options trading flow once you know the key data points. It is especially important to understand both volume and open interest. Volume refers to the trading that takes place during a given session, and open interest denotes the contracts that are still outstanding. Hence, the two figures can tell quite different stories. Liquidity is also a factor; merely having a high volume or a high open-interest figure does not in itself ensure that you will get a good execution price. T…

What Are Options Sweeps and Block Trades?

A sweep involving options usually means an order that is set up in order to find available liquidity in various markets or on different exchanges, the order being capable of being executed at a number of available prices. Traders keep an eye on such sweeps since they can show that the order was arranged with a preference for execution rather than merely waiting passively at a single price. In contrast, a block trade usually involves a large transaction, the threshold for what is considered signi…

Sweep Trades vs. Block Trades

The main difference is that a sweep refers to a method of execution, whereas a block refers to a big transaction. A sweep may include several executions, while a block can be a large transaction in a single market or can be incorporated as part of a broader strategy. It should not be taken as an indication to buy or to sell. A big options trade may be part of a hedge, a spread, a closing transaction, a volatility strategy, or some other position which is not clear from the single transaction alo…

How to Read Options Flow Step by Step

If you are learning how to read options flow , use a structured process instead of reacting to the biggest number on the screen. Identify the underlying asset. Start with the stock, ETF, or index connected to the option. Check unusual volume. Ask whether current activity is meaningfully different from normal activity. Compare volume with open interest. A large volume figure can mean something different depending on existing open positions. Review premium and trade size. Determine how large the t…

How an Options Flow Scanner Can Help

It takes a lot of time to go through thousands of option contracts. A scanner tool for options flow can assist by gathering potentially odd transactions into a single research interface. Rather than looking at each contract in turn, traders can use filters and information on activity to concentrate on Calls, Puts, large trades, premium, sweeps, blocks, and other features. This is especially useful since the number of available options is still increasing. In both the first and second quarters of…

Using the SecurePutCalls Options Flow Scanner

The SecurePutCalls Options Flow Scanner is a practical research tool that traders can use when they want to look into unusual options activity. Since it is designed for this purpose, traders are able to study options flow, filter out the activity, look at Calls and Puts, examine large trades and premium, and investigate sweeps and blocks. An unusual options activity scanner therefore proves useful as a starting point; rather than trying at once to work out if a transaction is bullish or bearish,…

Common Mistakes When Reading Options Flow

A major error is to regard each big trade as a signal since, although size draws attention, it doesn't indicate the trader's intent. A large transaction might be included as part of a hedge, a spread, an opening position, a closing position, or a more extensive multi-leg strategy. A second error is to ignore open interest. Although it is useful to compare today's volume with the existing level of open interest, such a comparison still does not show you who is opening or who is closing positions.…

Options Flow vs. Traditional Stock Analysis

Options flow can complement traditional market analysis rather than replace it. A trader could therefore make use of an institutional options flow scanner or an options activity tracker in order to locate an unusual contract and then move on to a chart to examine price action. After that, they might look at the company's fundamentals, then consider volatility and finally look at the option chain. The advantage of this method isn't that a single data source is able to predict the market; rather,…

Conclusion

Options Flow offers traders an additional method for studying the options market apart from just looking at a stock chart. Information such as v olume, open interest, premium, strike price, expiration, trade size, sweeps, and blocks can all serve as useful indications of where options activity is focused. The situation depends on context; a big Call doesn't necessarily indicate a bullish position, and a big Put doesn't necessarily mean a bearish position either. Open interest gives information a…