# How do I read the Options page?

> What the Radar, Intraday and Large prints views show, what each column means, and what the readings do not tell you.

The [Options page](https://app.sentisense.ai/options) ranks how unusual each stock's options activity looks against that stock's own past year. It describes positioning, meaning how options on the stock are currently placed. It does not say who bought or sold, and it is not a forecast or a recommendation.

## Which view am I looking at?

| View | What it shows | How fresh |
|---|---|---|
| **Radar** | Every covered stock ranked by how far its options readings sit from its own normal | Computed in the evening and refreshed the next morning. The header shows the latest session that has been published |
| **Intraday** | Contracts trading far above their open interest during the session | Delayed 15 minutes and refreshed about every 15 minutes. The end-of-day numbers are the final ones |
| **Large prints** | The session's biggest trades, rebuilt after the close | Published after the close |

Stocks and ETFs are separate boards. A fund's readings are not comparable with a stock's.

## Radar columns

| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| **Interest** | A 0 to 100 blend of five readings, each against the stock's own year: put/call volume, IV rank, skew, unusual contracts and how much of the open interest, meaning the contracts still outstanding, sits at a single strike price. High means unusual for that stock, not good or bad |
| **Options sentiment** | Positioning on a -1 to +1 scale, from put/call volume, the cost of downside protection and dealer positioning. It is separate from news and social sentiment |
| **Put/call vol** | Puts traded for every call, and where that sits in the stock's own year. The middle of the track is a typical day |
| **IV rank** | Where implied volatility, the size of move that options prices expect, sits in its one-year range. 85 means it is 85% of the way from its lowest to its highest point of the past year |
| **25d skew** | How much more downside protection costs than upside, in volatility points. Positive is normal for stocks |
| **Premium** | Estimated value of the session's options trading, with each contract valued at its end-of-day mark price or, for some sessions, its last trade price |
| **Signals** | Short flags such as IV spike, Skew steep, Put-heavy, Call-heavy, an open interest wall, or a count of unusual contracts |

IV rank, skew and at-the-money volatility are measured on the single listed expiry closest to 30 days away, not on a value blended across expiries, so the exact number of days to that expiry shifts a little from day to day.

"Building baseline" means the stock does not have enough history yet for a percentile.

## Unusual contracts and the next-day follow-up

A contract is flagged as unusual when its volume is above 1,000 and more than three times the open interest it started the session with. Further rules based on premium can also flag a contract once there is enough history. Premium is estimated from the end-of-day mark price or, for some sessions, the last trade price. The buyer or seller is not identified.

The next session, the **Next session OI** column shows how open interest changed. A rise means more positions were opened than closed. Little change means the number of outstanding contracts barely moved. It does not show which trades opened or closed positions, and it is a count, not a side. [Open interest vs volume](/blog/open-interest-vs-volume-options/) explains how to read it.

## On a stock's Options tab

- **Overview**: the options-implied range, IV rank, the expected move for the next session and put/call volume.
- **Expected move**: how far the stock might move, not which way. About 90% of past moves landed inside it. The cone chart shows separate model-based 68% and 95% zones out to 90 days.
- **Max pain and open interest walls**: walls are strikes with the most open interest. Max pain is the price at expiry at which option holders, taken together, would be paid the least. Both describe positioning, not a price target. When few contracts trade on a stock, a single trade can move a wall.

## Free and Pro

Radar and a stock's Overview, Positioning and Open interest views are open to free accounts. Free accounts see the previous session's Intraday board in full. The latest session, Large prints and the contracts behind today's flow need Pro. [Compare plans](https://app.sentisense.ai/pricing).

*Educational content, not investment advice.*