Watched Names
Last updated 2026-09-24
This pane is one of the screens covered in Reading The Options Suite.
At a glance
- The list. Up to sixty names, chosen one way every night: tonight's options volume, calls plus puts, largest first.
- A fallback order. A name the options capture does not cover falls back to its share volume against average, then its realised volatility.
- Read options first. Each row leads with how busy the options were and how they are priced. The signal comes after.
- The signal. How often names read like this finished on their side, beside the figure for any stock. It also says whether it is a signal, an outlook at Low, or no edge.
- What loud volume alone proves. It was measured against what happened next and did not raise the odds of being right. Volume sets the order. Only the signal carries a checked figure.
- Key difference. The order is traded volume, an observed count. The signal is a checked figure. Loud volume does not make a signal more likely to be right.
What it shows
| Column | What it is |
|---|---|
| Symbol | The ticker and the company. |
| Options volume | Contracts traded tonight, a bar against the busiest name, and the figure against the name's own recent average. |
| Calls and puts | The split of tonight's volume, calls in green and puts in red, with the call share. |
| IV rank | Where implied volatility sits against the name's own weekly readings, 0 to 100. |
| IV and realised | At the money implied volatility, then the shares' realised volatility over 20 trading days, both a year. |
| Priced move | The move the quotes carry to the expiry nearest a month out, up and down apart. |
| Signal | The probability beside any stock, and a signal, an outlook at Low, or no edge. |
| Earnings | The next report date the Earnings Radar lists. Amber inside 10 trading days. |
| Price | The share price change over 1, 5 and 21 trading days, whole percents. |
The filters. All, With a signal, Unusual volume, Earnings soon and Moving. Unusual volume is tonight's options volume at twice the name's own average or more. Moving is realised volatility over 25 percent a year. Each filter only hides rows; the order never changes.
Two dates. The model's figures and the option figures each carry their own trading day, printed under the table. The option capture can run a trading day or two ahead of the model's file.
Reading it well
- Scan the volume against its average. A name at 3 times its own average is busier than usual for that name, whatever its size.
- Read IV rank beside realised volatility. A high IV rank with realised volatility well under the implied figure means option prices carry more movement than the shares have shown.
- Check the earnings date. A report inside the expiry is usually what a high priced move is carrying.
- Then read the model. A signal beside busy options is two facts, not one stronger one.
Frequently asked questions
Does a high spot on the list mean the name is a stronger pick? No. The order is traded volume, an observed count. It carries no opinion. Why do most rows show no edge? Most names sit in the middle of the ranking, where the measured figure is close to any stock.
Related panes
- Changed Hands is the full traded volume screen, by strike and by expiry.
- Watchlist carries the same signal on the names a reader starred.
- Market Scan carries the model's signal for every ranked name, not only the busiest.