Options flow scanner that grades itself
Unusual options activity, golden sweeps, and repeat-buyer flow — with the one thing most scanners hide: what happened next.
Most options-flow tools show you a firehose of big trades and leave you to guess which ones matter. TickerDesk scans ~180 liquid optionable names six times a market day (15-minute delayed), flags the unusual activity, and then tracks every flagged signal to a real outcome at +1/+3/+5/+10/+20 days versus SPY.
These are the honest aggregate numbers — a near-coin-flip baseline. The edge lives in specific cohorts, and we publish where it doesn't work too.
What it flags
- Golden sweeps — aggressive, multi-exchange sweep orders paying the ask.
- Volume > open interest — new positioning, not existing books being traded.
- Repeat buyers — the same contract accumulating across sessions.
- Opening-buyer premium — bull vs bear dollar-premium tilt per name and market-wide.
Why the grading matters
A scan is only worth what it predicts. Every cohort — by signal type, DTE bucket, liquidity tier and flag — carries its own expected value, win rate, and confidence interval, recomputed nightly. Where a cohort shows no edge, the app says so instead of dressing it up.
Frequently asked
Is the options flow real-time?
Data is 15-minute delayed (Polygon Options Starter), clearly labeled everywhere. The scan runs six times per market day.
Does options flow actually work?
On the full ledger, following flow blindly is close to a coin flip — we publish that. The edge is in specific cohorts and decays within days. The transparency page has the numbers.
Every signal referenced is logged and graded against real closes; see the transparency page for the full self-graded track record.