
A static watchlist takes a snapshot of the securities that currently meet your scan criteria and saves them. Now you can create either a static or a dynamic watchlist. Want to increase your results? Select Showto increase the number of stocks you’d like on your Sizzle Index. Select Add Fundamental Filter and under Criteria, select Last. For instance, say you’ll only bite at stocks trading under $20 per share. Use Stock Hacker under the Scan tab to further refine your sizzle list. Select OK and you ’l l see these new columns on your scan results, breaking down the unusual options volume in those symbols by trades in either the calls or puts of the underlying. You might also use Options Statistics on the Trade tab for greater detail. Using either the search box or the scroll menu, find the Call Sizzle Index and Put Sizzle Index column types and add them to your set using Add Item(s). To do this, select the gear icon at the top right of your scan results and select Customize. For instance, compare call and put activity within the sizzle stocks with the available put and call sizzle columns. And there’s more information within your reach. The results will give you the top 10 most “sizzling” securities, measured by how many times their options volume is beating the volume of the past five days. Want more on this and other new tips? Log in to the thinkorswim platform, and under the Education tab, select Learning Center > Release Notes. So now you can exclude symbols from a scan with as much precision as you’ve included them in the past. Before getting into the specifics, familiarize yourself with the Stock Hacker screen, located under the Scan tab in the thinkorswim platform (see figure 1).Īs of the October 2019 release, scan filters have been divided into two groups: Using the Sizzle Index as a personal scanning device for unusual options activity can be done in four steps: scan, compare, refine, and save. 4 Simple Steps to a Personalized Sizzle Screen Use it to quickly get a condensed roundup of, in this case, the unusual suspects you may want to keep an eye on. And because it’s impossible to keep tabs on all stocks all of the time, the Sizzle Index “quick scan” does your heavy lifting to identify unusually high values. Think of it as an unusual options activity scanner that allows you to follow the money in a given stock and help you troll for potential trading ideas. A Sizzle Index of 0.50 indicates current volume at half of its average, and so on. So if you see a stock with a Sizzle Index of 5.00, that indicates its current daily options volume is five times that of its daily average options volume. The Sizzle Index is a ratio of a security’s current options volume over that security’s average options volume. If you’re the type who likes to know the math behind an indicator before implementing it into a strategy, here you go. It’s an indicator for screening stocks posting unusual options volume compared to their recent draw. So, how best to get a little volume temperature reading without sticking your hand in the flame? Try the Sizzle Index on the thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. It’s also important to be able to track down unusual options volume when it occurs, because it could hint at where the underlying stock might go. When tracking options volume, you’ll want to discern whether the crowd is taking action-buying or selling-in call options as well as put options. In fact, they may indicate that a reversal is taking shape. It’s fitting, then, that large percentage price increases that are accompanied by thin trading volume are less likely to indicate market direction with any staying power. For instance, a jump in volume that coincides with a big up or down price move may be an indication of strength in the direction of the change. Options volume is best viewed in the context of other indicators. No transcontinental flight is necessary- you can do this kind of observation right from a single feature on the thinkorswim® trading platform with a tool called the Sizzle Index. Whether or not you’re deep into calls and puts in your own portfolio, simply tracking options volume can be an important indicator in your trading kit. But for stock trends, you might follow the options crowd. Want to spot the latest trends? How about engaging in a little people-watching?įor fashion trends, you’d sit at a bistro in Paris and watch the passersby. Learn how the Sizzle Index can help traders find, filter, refine, and monitor stocks experiencing unusual options activity.Tracking options activity can offer insight into market expectations for a particular stock.
