Unusual Stock Volume
The Unusual Stock Volume report lists the stocks trading far more shares than usual today: more than 1.5 times their average daily volume over the last 90 trading days, ranked by that ratio, the Relative Volume. It is free and includes stocks and ETFs of any size.
What is unusual stock volume?
Volume is the number of shares that change hands. When a stock trades far more shares than it usually does, something may be going on: heavy volume often comes with news, earnings or other events, though not always. The Unusual Stock Volume report lists the stocks with the biggest volume spikes today, each measured against its own average, so a small company trading three times its usual volume ranks next to a large one doing the same.
What counts as unusual
- Relative Volume. The shares a stock has traded so far today divided by its average daily volume over the last 90 trading days, not counting today. The list is sorted by it, highest first.
- More than 1.5 times the average. Every stock on the list has traded more than 1.5 times its average daily volume.
- A higher bar late in the day. The bar rises through the afternoon. In about the last hour of trading, and for a finished session, a stock that averages more than 150,000 shares a day needs more than 1.75 times its average.
- A minimum for quiet stocks. A stock that averages 75,000 shares a day or fewer also needs more than 25,000 shares on top of a share of its average that grows through the day, so a few thousand extra shares aren't enough.
- Regular-session volume. Volume counts the regular session, including the opening and closing auctions and trades reported away from the exchanges. Premarket and after-hours trades are left out.
- No price or size filter. Stocks and ETFs of any price or market cap can appear. The list is rebuilt about every 5 minutes; before the open, and on weekends and holidays, it shows the last full trading day, with that date above the table.
Volume shows how much is trading, not which way the price is going or where it goes next. Check the % Chg column for the direction.
What you can find out
Which stocks have unusually high volume today?
The Stock Volume Spikes table lists them, the biggest spike against the stock's own average first. See today's volume spikes
What does a relative volume of 3.0 mean?
The stock has already traded three times the shares it trades on an average day over the last 90 trading days. The Volume and Avg Volume columns show the two numbers behind the ratio. See the report
Is the volume spike tied to earnings or another event?
The Earnings column shows the stock's earnings date, colored for a report today, an upcoming confirmed date or a past report, and the Event column shows its next event. See the earnings calendar
Which stocks are rising on heavy volume?
Sort the table by % Chg, or open Top Gainers on High Volume, a ready-made screen that shows each stock's relative volume next to its price change. See top gainers on high volume
How is this different from unusual options activity?
This report compares a stock's share volume with its own average. Unusual option volume does the same for the options on a stock, and large volume burst trades catch sudden bursts of trading during the day. How unusual options activity works
Where to find it
Menu: Stocks › Features › Unusual Stock Volume, or go straight to /Reports/UnusualStockVolumeReport.
The report is free for everyone, with no Premium-only parts. It shows the current or last trading session only, not earlier days.
What each column means
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Volume | Shares traded so far today in the regular session |
| Avg Volume | Average daily volume over the last 90 trading days, today not included |
| Relative Volume | Volume divided by Avg Volume, to one decimal |
| Price, Chg, % Chg | The latest price and its change from the previous close |
| Earnings | The stock's earnings date: today, an upcoming confirmed date or a past report |
| Event | The stock's next event |
FAQ
- What is relative volume?
- Today's volume divided by the stock's average daily volume over the last 90 trading days. A relative volume of 3.0 means three times the usual number of shares has traded.
- Is today's volume compared with a full day's average, even in the morning?
- Yes. The report compares the volume so far today with a full day's average, so in the morning only stocks that have already traded 1.5 times a normal day appear, and the list usually grows during the day.
- Does premarket or after-hours volume count?
- No. Volume counts the regular session, including the opening and closing auctions.
- Can I see unusual volume for an earlier day?
- No. The report shows the current session, or the last one before the open and on weekends and holidays.
- Does unusual volume mean the stock will go up?
- No. Volume measures how much is trading, not the direction. The % Chg column shows which way the price moved.
Related
Analyzing unusual options activity Volume Burst Screener Market Movers S&P 500 Volume Burst TradesTerms on this page
Relative volume Average daily volume Volume burst Unusual options activityMarket Chameleon provides data, not investment advice.