Highest Open Interest Stocks: Top 50 by Total Options OI

As of June 8, 2026 (end-of-day snapshot). Pages update daily after the market close.

Total options open interest (call + put contracts outstanding) accumulates over every prior session that wasn't offset by closing trades. Names at the top of the OI leaderboard are where institutional positioning has piled up, and they are the names where dealer hedging flows, max pain pinning, and gamma walls matter most. Persistent high OI signals a ticker institutions have taken a view on; sharp drops in OI after expiration mean position cleanup.

Top 50 by Total OI

Methodology

OI aggregates call and put contracts outstanding per ticker from daily end-of-day OPRA snapshots. Names are ranked by total OI (calls plus puts) with a minimum threshold to filter out low-activity symbols. Updated once per trading day after the close.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is options open interest?

Open interest is the number of options contracts that are currently open, meaning they have been created through a buy-to-open trade and have not yet been closed, exercised, or expired. Each contract typically represents 100 shares of the underlying. Open interest accumulates over every prior trading session that did not see closing trades on the same strike, so it is a cumulative measure of positioning rather than a single-session flow signal. OI is reported per strike, per expiration, and aggregated to per-ticker totals.

Why does high OI matter?

High OI concentrations show where institutional and professional positioning has accumulated over time. Heavy-OI strikes act as support and resistance through dealer hedging flows. When spot approaches a strike with significant OI, dealer gamma hedging produces order flow that tends to either reinforce or fade the move depending on whether dealers are net long or short gamma at that level. High-OI strikes also become gravitational anchors near expiration (the max-pain effect) and reveal which names institutional desks have taken meaningful views on.

How does OI differ from volume?

Volume counts contracts traded in a single session, while open interest counts all outstanding contracts accumulated across every prior session. Volume is a flow metric (today's activity); OI is a stock metric (cumulative positioning). Together they reveal whether positions are being built (OI rising day-over-day) or unwound (OI falling). A strike with high volume but flat OI suggests offsetting trades, opens and closes happening at similar rates. A strike with rising OI reveals net new positioning being accumulated by one side of the market.

When does OI drop significantly?

The day after a major expiration. Expired contracts are removed from open interest automatically when their expiration date passes, so the morning after the third Friday of every month, post-expiration OI drops are typically routine cleanup rather than a directional signal. Quarterly OPEX (March, June, September, December third Fridays) and year-end expirations produce the largest drops because of the concentration of LEAPS and quarterly strikes. Smaller drops happen weekly with the Friday weekly expirations.

How fresh is the data on this screener?

All public screener data refreshes once per trading day after the 4:00 PM ET market close, typically available by 5:30 PM ET. The platform uses end-of-day OPRA aggregates which are licensed for free public display. Authenticated API-tier users with their own Tradier or tastytrade BYOK credentials can pull intraday data through the streaming endpoints.

Where does the underlying data come from?

End-of-day OPRA aggregates for the options data, exchange-published stock prices for the spot reference, and a calibrated implied-volatility surface computed from the listed chain. Ranking metrics like IV rank, GEX, and unusual-activity counts are computed nightly from these primary inputs. Methodology details are in each screener's "How it's computed" section above.

Are these stocks recommended trades?

No. The screener is a ranked list of names that meet a quantitative filter at the close of the prior trading session, a research starting point, not a buy or sell signal. Whether any name on the list represents a tradeable opportunity depends on the underlying catalyst, your strategy, current market context, and risk tolerance. The platform does not give trade advice; the lists are descriptive, not prescriptive.

How often does the ranking change?

The ranking refreshes every trading day after the close. Names move on and off the list as their underlying metric (IV rank, gamma exposure, volume, etc.) crosses thresholds. Most screeners show meaningful day-over-day churn at the top of the list during active markets and lower turnover during low-volatility regimes. The "biggest change" screeners specifically target fast-moving names.

Is the screener tradeable in real-time during market hours?

The screener itself ranks on end-of-day data. To trade names on the list during market hours, use your own broker's real-time chain data; the platform's per-ticker pages link directly to real-time chains for authenticated users. The screener's job is to surface the universe of candidates that met yesterday's filter; the trade decision uses live data.

Can I export the ranked list?

Pro and API tier users can export rankings via the API (REST endpoint per screener slug returns a JSON list with all metric columns) or pull them programmatically through the Python SDK. Free users have the full ranking visible on the page; programmatic access requires authentication. Daily snapshots are also available for backtesting research through the API tier.