Option Block Trades Screener
The Option Block Trades Screener lists individual option trades of $10,000 or more in premium, newest first, with the contract, size, price, where the price was against the bid and ask, the trade's implied volatility and the previous day's open interest. Everyone sees the latest 50 trades; Premium and Premium Options members see the full list, the filters and the four trading days before.
What is the Option Block Trades Screener?
A block trade is a single large trade. Big option trades can show where traders with real money at stake are positioning: which stock, which strike and expiration, calls or puts, and how much they paid. The Option Block Trades Screener lists the individual option trades we track with at least $10,000 in premium, newest first, with the contract, the size, the price, where the price was against the bid and ask, the option's implied volatility and the stock's open interest.
How trades are picked
- $10,000 in premium. A trade makes the list when its premium - the price times the number of contracts times the contract multiplier - is $10,000 or more. There is no minimum number of contracts, so a few expensive contracts can qualify.
- Spread legs included. Trades that were legs of a multi-leg order, or tied to a stock trade, are listed too. The Condition column shows how each trade was reported. Cancelled trades are dropped.
- The side of the market. The Side column compares the trade price with the national best bid and offer when it traded: Below the bid, at the Bid, Mid (between the bid and ask), at the Ask, Above the ask, or Other (for example a crossed or missing market).
- Volatility. Trade IV is the implied volatility from the trade price. IV Chg is the difference from the option's implied volatility at the previous day's close. IV % Rank compares the trade's IV with past implied volatilities of options on the same stock with the same type, the same distance from the stock price and the same time left to expiration.
- Open interest. The Open Interest column is the previous trading day's figure, so it does not include today's trades.
- Through the session. New trades are added during the day, and the list on the page is rebuilt about every 2 minutes. Until shortly after the open, and on weekends and holidays, the screener shows the last trading day.
The screener shows what traded and where it printed against the market. It doesn't say whether a trade was bought or sold, or whether it opened or closed a position, and a single trade is not a buy or sell signal.
What you can find out
What are the largest option trades today?
Sort the table by Trade $ Notional to put the biggest trades by premium first, or by Trade Qty for the most contracts. The list starts with the newest trades. See today's block trades
Was a big option trade made at the bid or the ask?
The Side column shows where the price was: a trade at or above the ask paid up, one at or below the bid sold down, Mid traded in between. The Bid and Ask columns show the quote at the time. Check the side of each trade
Which big option trades went through in one stock?
Type the ticker in the Filter Symbol box. Premium members can also filter by watchlist, sector, ETF holdings, expiration, delta, trade size, premium and more. Search the screener
Is a block trade large for that stock?
Qty % Avg Volume puts the trade's size against the stock's average daily option volume over the last 90 trading days: 100 contracts in a stock that trades 500 a day shows 20%. Premium members can also filter on trade size against open interest. Compare trade sizes
What big option trades went through on an earlier day?
Premium members can switch the screener to the current session or one of the four trading days before it, and open any trade to follow the option's price, open interest and volume in the days after. Open the screener
Where to find it
Menu: Screeners › Features › Option Block Trades, or go straight to /Screeners/OptionTrades.
Everyone sees the latest 50 trades of the current session. Premium and Premium Options members see the full list, the filters, the past days, Auto Refresh, the Performance Tracking figures (the option's and the stock's return since the trade) and the download.
What the main columns mean
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Time, Symbol, Option Expiration, Type, Strike | When the trade printed and which contract it was |
| Spot Price | The stock's price, the midpoint of its bid and ask, when the option traded |
| Trade Qty, Trade Price, Trade $ Notional | Contracts, price per contract and the total premium |
| Bid, Ask, Side | The quote when the trade printed and where the price was against it |
| Trade IV, IV Chg, IV % Rank | The trade's implied volatility, its change from the previous close and its rank against similar options in the past |
| Open Interest | Contracts open at the end of the previous trading day |
| Condition, Execution, Exch. | How and where the trade was reported |
| Trade Edge | How far the trade price was from the midpoint of the option's bid and ask |
| Qty % Avg Volume | The trade's size as a share of the stock's average daily option volume |
| Days To Exp, Events | Trading days left to expiration, and D, E or C when a dividend, earnings report or company event falls before it |
FAQ
- What counts as a block trade on this screener?
- One option trade with at least $10,000 in premium: the price times the number of contracts times the contract multiplier. There is no minimum number of contracts.
- Does the screener say whether a trade was bought or sold?
- No. The Side column shows where the price was against the bid and ask when it traded. The Single Leg Trade Screener labels trades bought or sold and reads the next morning's open interest for opening and closing trades.
- Are spread legs included?
- Yes. Legs of multi-leg orders and trades tied to a stock trade are listed too; the Condition column shows how each was reported. The Multi-Leg Trade Screener shows spreads with their legs put together.
- Why do I only see 50 trades?
- Without a Premium or Premium Options plan the screener shows the latest 50 trades of the current session, and the filters, the past days and the download are locked.
- Is the Open Interest column up to date?
- It is the previous trading day's open interest, so it doesn't include today's trades. Open interest is published the next morning.
Related
Single Leg Trade Screener Multi-Leg Trade Screener guide Analyzing unusual options activity Option Repeat Trade ScreenerTerms on this page
Block trade Premium (notional) Bid-ask spread Open interest Implied volatilityMarket Chameleon provides data, not investment advice.