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Options flow recaps & market notes

Weekly reads on unusual options flow: the standout trades, recurring tickers, and what the tape was really telling us, plus practical notes on reading the market. New posts drop each week.

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Options Flow Guides · June 28, 2026
How to read options flow

Every field on a print decoded: ticker, strike, expiry, premium, sweep vs block, Vol/OI ratio, aggressor side, and score. A practical framework for turning a raw tape into a ranked short list of high-conviction signals. Read →

Options Flow Guides · June 28, 2026
Smart money options flow: how to identify institutional activity

What makes an options print institutional: the four-factor signal stack (premium, Vol/OI, sweep, DTE), how to separate genuine conviction from hedging, and the Congress and 13F overlay that adds cross-domain confirmation. Read →

Options Flow Guides · June 20, 2026
How to read pre-earnings options flow

What sweeps, OTM strikes, and large premium say before results, and why IV crush means being right on direction still isn't enough. A structured checklist for watching pre-earnings flow without getting burned. Read →

Sector Flow · June 28, 2026
Reading Options Flow in Cybersecurity Stocks

How smart money reads ARR acceleration, platform consolidation, breach catalysts, and government contracts in CRWD, PANW, ZS, FTNT, and S. Read →

Sector Flow · June 28, 2026
Options flow for commodity stocks: reading crop reports, fertilizer cycles, and copper demand signals

ADM and Bunge's soybean crush spread and WASDE report timing, Mosaic and Nutrien's potash pricing cycle and corn-to-fertilizer demand lag, and Freeport-McMoRan's copper AI infrastructure thesis and LME inventory signals as the frameworks driving institutional commodity stock positioning. Read →

Options Flow Guides · June 28, 2026
Options flow for cable and broadband stocks: reading broadband subscriber trends, ARPU, and fiber overbuilder competition signals

How broadband subscriber net additions vs fiber overbuild competition, Comcast's theme park and Peacock optionality, Charter's Spectrum One bundling and FCF buyback strategy, and ARPU growth dynamics drive institutional cable and broadband positioning. Read →

Sector Flow · June 28, 2026
Options flow for apartment REIT stocks: reading rent growth, occupancy, and housing supply signals

How same-store blended rent growth, new apartment supply entering Sunbelt markets, EQR's coastal supply constraints, AVB's development pipeline yield, MAA's migration tailwinds, and interest rate cap rate dynamics drive institutional apartment REIT positioning. Read →

Options Flow Guides · June 28, 2026
Options flow for e-commerce platform stocks: reading GMV growth, merchant acquisition, and take rate expansion signals

How Shopify GMV growth, Merchant Solutions take rate expansion, Etsy habitual buyer retention, and the holiday quarter seasonality drive institutional e-commerce platform positioning in SHOP, ETSY, and BIGC. Read →

Sector Flow · June 28, 2026
Options flow for hydrogen and clean energy stocks: reading DOE hubs, IRA tax credits, and electrolyzer cost signals

IRA Section 45V clean hydrogen tax credit policy, DOE Hydrogen Hub project milestones, electrolyzer cost curve progress, and industrial off-take agreements drive options flow in PLUG, BE, FCEL, and BLDP. Read →

Options Flow Guides · June 28, 2026
Options flow for biodefense and pandemic preparedness stocks: reading BARDA contracts, outbreak signals, and stockpile orders

BARDA procurement contracts, pre-outbreak call accumulation patterns, SNS stockpile replenishment cycles, and mRNA platform optionality drive institutional positioning in SIGA, MRNA, EBS, and pandemic preparedness names. Read →

Sector Flow · June 28, 2026
Options flow for solar energy stocks: reading ITC policy, Chinese tariffs, and installation rate signals

ITC policy, Chinese panel tariff decisions, interest rate sensitivity for residential solar financing, and the ENPH vs SEDG competitive battle drive options flow in FSLR, RUN, and the solar sector. Read →

Sector Flow · June 28, 2026
Options flow for quantum computing stocks: reading hardware milestones, error correction progress, and government contract signals

Raw qubit count records drive retail call spikes; logical qubit error correction progress drives sustained institutional accumulation. Government contracts are the only legitimate pre-commercial revenue. AI progress extending classical computing creates the persistent quantum winter put thesis. IONQ is the most liquid pure-play options market. Read →

Sector Flow · June 28, 2026
Options flow for space stocks: reading launch manifests, government contracts, and satellite constellation signals

RKLB's Neutron development milestones drive LEAPS positioning; ASTS carrier partnerships and satellite deployments drive call accumulation; government NSSL and CLPS awards are the highest-quality institutional anchors. Separate the retail launch-event calls from institutional program-thesis LEAPS. Read →

Sector Flow · June 28, 2026
Options flow for nuclear energy stocks: reading uranium demand, SMR contracts, and AI power signals

AI data center power demand, uranium supply constraints, and SMR contract awards drive distinctive call flow in CCJ, CEG, VST, and OKLO. The nuclear renaissance has transformed these from yield plays to high-growth infrastructure bets. Read →

Options Flow Guides · June 28, 2026
Options flow for treasury bonds and bond ETFs: reading rate expectations in TLT, TBT, and IEF

Bond ETF options let institutions express rate expectations at scale. TLT call accumulation signals falling-rate bets that often lead rate-sensitive equity sector moves by days. Read →

Sector Flow · June 28, 2026
Options flow for defense stocks: reading contract awards, budget cycles, and geopolitical signals

Contract award announcements, Pentagon budget cycles, and geopolitical escalation events drive distinctive options flow in RTX, LMT, NOC, GD, and BA. Read →

Options Flow Guides · June 28, 2026
Options flow and buyback blackout windows: how repurchase pauses affect the tape

Companies must pause buyback programs weeks before earnings, removing a major demand floor. Learn how this predictable calendar event creates distinctive options flow patterns. Read →

Options Flow Guides · June 28, 2026
Options flow in special situations: spinoffs, mergers, and restructurings

Spinoff liberation value, merger arb spread risk, activist situation conviction, each type of special situation generates distinctive flow patterns that reward investors who understand the specific event mechanics. Read →

Options Flow Guides · June 28, 2026
Options flow for gold and precious metals: reading GLD, SLV, and GDX signals

Precious metals options flow is a macro indicator, capturing real rate expectations, inflation positioning, and safe-haven demand invisible in equity sector flow. Learn how to read GLD calls, GDX leverage, and silver's hybrid industrial-monetary signal. Read →

Options Flow Guides · June 28, 2026
Multi-leg options strategies in the flow: reading complex institutional trades

Risk reversals, straddles, ratio spreads, and collars each signal a different institutional thesis. Learn to recognize multi-leg structures in the tape and interpret what each structure expresses about conviction and direction. Read →

Options Flow Guides · June 28, 2026
Options flow and stock splits: announcement, pre-split, and post-split dynamics

Stock splits generate distinct options flow at three stages, announcement call sweeps, adjusted-contract housekeeping, and post-split retail influx. Here's how to read each stage without confusing noise for signal. Read →

Options Flow Guides · June 28, 2026
Options flow and earnings surprises: reading the tape after big beats and misses

Post-earnings options flow is the purest fundamental conviction signal in the tape. Call OI trajectory in the first 48 hours after a big beat or miss reveals whether the move has legs or has been harvested. Read →

Options Flow Guides · June 28, 2026
Options flow and Fed policy: how rate cycles change institutional positioning

The Fed rate cycle reshapes which sectors attract call vs put flow, how VIX behaves, and what directional bets make sense. A four-phase rate cycle playbook for reading options flow in each environment. Read →

Sector Flow · June 28, 2026
Options flow for China stocks and ADRs: reading geopolitical risk in the tape

BABA, JD, NIO, KWEB, and FXI options flow reflects regulatory risk, delisting premiums, stimulus cycles, and geopolitical escalation, forces that don't apply to domestic US equities. Read →

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