How to Read Option Flow and the Net Flow Chart

Open a ticker Net Flow chart

Open Option Flow (full tape) or Unusual Activity and select any ticker in the Tick column. The tape filters to that symbol and the page opens a Net Flow chart below it. Drag the divider between the tape and chart to give either panel more room — your split is remembered in this browser. Select the same ticker again to clear it.

On Stock Details, Maxx users can open Option Flow or Unusual Activity for the current ticker without picking a symbol (guide). Both tabs show Net Flow for that locked ticker.

The chart follows the selected session and minimum-premium filter. During market hours it refreshes automatically.

Gross flow versus net flow

The summary card and chart answer different questions:

• Call Flow and Put Flow are gross premium. Every qualifying trade is counted regardless of whether it executed at the bid, ask, or midpoint.
• NCP (Net Call Premium) adds ask-side call premium and subtracts bid-side call premium.
• NPP (Net Put Premium) adds ask-side put premium and subtracts bid-side put premium.
• Midpoint and unknown-side trades count toward gross flow but not NCP or NPP.

That is why NCP and NPP usually do not match Call Flow and Put Flow. Net values can also be negative.

The Bullish / Bearish / Neutral bar groups gross premium by the feed's sentiment tags. Trades tagged neutral, arbitrage, dividend, both bullish and bearish, or neither remain neutral instead of being forced into a direction. It can differ from Net Flow because Net Flow independently uses bid/ask execution side.

Read the two chart sections

The upper chart plots cumulative NCP (green, same as calls on the tape) and NPP (red, same as puts) by minute. Positive values sit above the zero line; negative values sit below. A rising line means ask-side premium is accumulating faster; a falling line means bid-side premium is accumulating faster.

A blue Price line overlays the underlying stock price by minute on a separate right-hand scale so you can compare premium pressure with spot moves. Spot in the header is the latest price in the session.

The lower chart plots cumulative net contract volume. Ask-side contracts add to the line and bid-side contracts subtract. Use the tooltip to inspect a specific minute.

Understand the directional insight

The helper combines execution-side call and put pressure:

• Ask-side calls and bid-side puts contribute to a bullish lean.
• Bid-side calls and ask-side puts contribute to a bearish lean.
• Closely offsetting pressure is labeled Mixed.

Strength is shown as Slightly, Moderately, or Strongly based on how dominant the net directional premium is relative to total sided premium.

This is an execution-side inference, not proof of whether traders opened or closed positions and not a price forecast. Pair it with liquidity, earnings, trend, volatility, and your own risk plan.

Use the table tooltips

Hover or focus the help icon beside any summary metric or table heading for its definition. Fill uses the feed side (ASK, BID, MID), except AA when the print is above the ask and BB when it is below the bid. Multi marks prints that were part of a multi-leg options order or a stock-and-option combo; the other legs are not shown.

Customize columns and sort

Open Columns on the tape header to show or hide fields (saved in this browser). Click a header to sort across the full filtered session (not just the rows on screen); click again to reverse. IV and Vol/OI help judge how expensive and how unusual a print is versus open interest. Use Highlights filters Size > OI and Min Vol/OI when you want opening-sized or high-ratio prints only.

Filter by covered call or cash-secured put

The Strategy filter on Option Flow uses labels stored when each print is ingested (it does not classify in the browser, and it does not wait on Unusual Whales combo IDs):

• Covered call — bid-side single-leg call. Likely a short call; the tape cannot prove shares were held.
• Cash-secured put — bid-side single-leg put. Likely a short put; the tape cannot prove cash was posted.
• Bought call / bought put — ask-side single-leg prints.
• Any multi-leg, verticals, straddle, strangle, calendar, diagonal — option combo legs that share a ticker and the same execution timestamp.

Strategy stacks with Symbols, Unusual activity, Cushion, DTE, premium, and the other tape filters. Pair Cash-secured put with Unusual activity and Cushion above 0% to watch OTM short-put flow.