Options Screener Breakdown
The Unusual Whales options screener returns data on all options contracts across all US exchanges.
The options screener and flow feed vary in that the flow feed will return data on individual trades while the screener takes the individual trades and aggregates the data for each individual contract.
Screener Breakdown
Every contract across the market will be displayed on this page.
Annual subscribers are able to download the daily screener results via the download page.
You can show/hide different data points in your flow feed by selecting COLUMNS. The columns can also be reordered from the COLUMNS menu. You can hover over any column header for a brief definition. A full breakdown of column headers can also be found in the documentation below.
The default sorting method is by VOLUME. You can change the sorting method by selecting different column headers.
The bid/ask volume bars are derived from the NBBO (National Best Bid and Offer): a consolidated quote that reports the highest bid and the lowest ask price of all visible quotes. This value is disseminated market wide to investors. However, the name 'best bid and offer' is something of a misnomer, as price improvement opportunities can exist in situations where not all available liquidity is taken into consideration for the provided 'best bid and offer'. The side of the trade, as it pertains to Unusual Whales, is determined by the relationship between the fill price and the posted NBBO bid and ask spread.
The BULLISH / BEARISH volume bars are based solely on the fill price of each transaction and its relationship to the NBBO at the time of the trade. A call contract transacted at or closer to the ask will count as bullish volume, whereas a call contract transacted at or closer to the bid will count as bearish volume. A put contract transacted at or closer to the ask will count as bearish volume, whereas a put contract transacted at or closer to the bid will count as bullish volume.
Filters
All filters will generate a unique website URL which can be bookmarked for later reference or shared (e.g. this link will open a screener returning all contracts with volume > oi, and 70% or more volume at or closer to the ask side).
Preset Scanners
Unusually Bullish
Highly selective scanner identifying significant out-of-the-money potential call buying activity:
- Focuses exclusively on OTM calls with substantial premium ($500K+)
- Historically effective at identifying high-impact bullish positioning
- Generates focused daily signals for efficient monitoring
- Based on proven methodology from original Flow Feed analysis
Deep Conviction Calls
High-conviction trades indicating strong directional bias. These trades typically represent:
- Strategic position-taking with stock replacement characteristics
- Significant capital commitment through ITM calls (noting downside risk)
- High probability of conversion to open interest
- Premium-agnostic trades that may signal compelling long opportunities
- Focused on practical strike ranges (-12% to +1% from spot) to capture meaningful positioning
Deep Conviction Puts
High-delta put positions suggesting strong directional sentiment. These trades feature:
- Significant delta exposure (-0.40 or higher) indicating directional positioning over hedging
- Mirror strategy to Deep Conviction Calls, but bearish bias
- Optimized strike selection (-5% to +100% from spot) to focus on meaningful positioning
Long-Term Calls
High-conviction LEAPS positions with significant capital commitment. These trades feature:
- Large positions ($1M+) with extended duration, indicating strategic long-term outlook
- Strong tendency to convert to open interest, suggesting institutional commitment
- Balanced strike selection (-12% ITM to +100% OTM) to capture comprehensive positioning
Put Sells
Attempts to identify premium-selling opportunities:
- Captures significant potential put-selling activity
- Historical success in identifying market reversals
- Strategic strike selection (-10% to +100% from spot) optimized for meaningful signals
- Filters out deep in-the-money activity
Cheap Calls
Short-term, low-cost call options scanner targeting convexity opportunities:
- Identifies call purchases under $2.00 with 30 days or less until expiration
- Optimized for cost-effective directional exposure
- Focuses on near-the-money and OTM positions (within 2% ITM threshold)
- Designed for traders seeking high-leverage opportunities with defined risk
Bullish Credit Trades
Premium collection strategy focused on put-selling opportunities. Primary exposure is to short volatility risk.
- Targets bullish to neutral market positioning
- Minimum $100K premium collected with 20%+ return on capital (ROC)
- 1-60 DTE, max 10% ITM, 80%+ bid-side volume
- Filters for opening trades with limited multi-leg exposure
Bearish Credit Trades
Premium collection strategy focused on call-selling opportunities. Primary exposure is to short volatility risk.
- Targets bearish to neutral market positioning
- Minimum $100K premium collected with 20%+ return on capital (ROC)
- 1-60 DTE, max 10% ITM, 80%+ bid-side volume
- Filters for opening trades with limited multi-leg exposure
Shortcuts
There are several shortcuts available to help with your workflow. You can toggle any of these on and off using the COLUMNS settings mentioned earlier.
VIEW FLOW - opens a new tab with filters preloaded for that specific contract.
Additional Shortcuts
Additional shortcuts are available whenever you see text in blue.
Click the TICKER in the feed to be taken to that ticker's overview page.
Click the EXPIRATION DATE in the feed to open a popup with additional data, including an options contract chart for the selected contract and historical volume/open interest data.
Troubleshooting
Most general issues can be resolved by refreshing the page and/or clicking the RESET button in the FILTERS menu.
Please contact support@unusualwhales.com or come by the Discord server or Community Chat if you have any issues/questions.