Frequently Asked Questions

Charts Each chart shows block trades, which are typically made by institutions, indicated by bubbles superimposed upon OHLC price bars and volume profile (horizontal volume bars). Colors Lightly colored bubbles represent trades executed on public exchanges. Darker shaded bubbles represent trades executed on dark pools. Shapes Dozens of trade criteria exist. Rather than list each criterion, they've been separated into two groups. Diamonds represent sweeps. Sweeps are trades that execute across different exchanges and see the quickest fill, regardless of price. They're filled similar to market orders. Sweeps suggest urgency and tend to create a more immediate price reaction. Sweeps are denoted by a broom icon. Circles represent everything else, and are typically executed as limit orders. Guidelines Basics We can’t know if trades are buys or sells (or parts of complex options trades), so use disproportionately large trades as “guideposts.” Bullish when price is above, bearish when price is below. Size Larger trades are far more important and influential on price than smaller trades. Anything 5x average size or larger will be highlighted in yellow on the left side of the chart screen. Anything 20x or larger (or in the 99th percentile) will be highlighted in yellow on the large block scanner. All trades plotted on charts are represented by a bubble indicitative of its relative size compared to all other trades for that security. Rarity The larger the trade, the rarer it is and thus the more important it is. However, 10M shares of AAPL, while very large, is not very rare and thus should not be given as much attention as 10M shares of something far less liquid like CMG. Use the 'Last' column to gauge how rare a given trade is. Leverage When institutions add size to leverage, they’re showing their conviction. Watch 3x ETFs like SPXL/SPXS, TQQQ/SQQQ, TNA/TZA, NUGT/DUST, and others to help determine direction and magnitude of the underlying. Leveraged ETFs that print after hours will often telegraph the next day’s move. For example: if SPY sells off all day and closes at the lows, and 3x bullish ETFs print disporportionately large blocks at the close or after hours, it can be a signal that institutions have flipped long. Those blocks are also likely to be accompanied by bearish leveraged ETF blocks printing at their respective HOD which can be further evidence of shorts being closed and longs being opened. Late Prints Late prints are trades that are conducted on dark pools and not immediately reported. There may be a gap of a few minutes to several hours between the transaction time and reporting time. Late prints are plotted on charts based on their transaction time. Trade signals Disproportionately large trades aren’t always signals to enter a long or a short, sometimes they’re signals to exit a long or exit a short. Other times they’re signals to move stops up or to hedge. Every trader has their own trading style and criteria. Use this information to aid the decision process.