See today’s put/call ratio

What this recipe computes

• Put/call ratio by trade count and by premium for single-name flow.
• Put share of total premium, and the call and put premium totals.
• Per-name ratios for the session’s heaviest names.

What it does not claim

• A ratio above or below 1 is not a signal, and there is no universal threshold.
• Neutral premium — spreads and hedges — is not directional and is excluded from the tilt.
• Index and ETF roots are excluded; this is single-name flow.

How to read it

1. Step 1

   Read both ratios

   They can lean opposite ways when puts trade cheap and in size.

2. Step 2

   Check who is pulling it

   One heavily hedged mega-cap can move a market-wide ratio on its own.

3. Step 3

   Compare against baseline

   The Put/Call Ratio Deviation screener scores each name against its own trailing history.

Frequently asked questions

Which put/call ratio should I use?

Read both. Contracts is the familiar number and flatters cheap puts; premium is the dollars actually committed. A tape can look bearish by one and balanced by the other.

Is a high put/call ratio bearish?

Not on its own. Puts are bought as hedges against long stock as often as they are bought as bets, and the tape cannot tell the two apart.

Related glossary

• Put/call ratioPut/call ratio compares put activity to call activity by contracts, volume, or premium. Context decides whether heavy puts mean hedges or bearish bets.
• Option flowOption flow is the time-and-sales stream of options prints: contract, size, premium, and inferred aggressor side.
• Dealer hedgingDealer hedging is market makers buying or selling the underlying to stay near delta-neutral as price and gamma change.

Related personas

• Options Flow for Day TradersDay traders need speed with a filter: see what is printing now, rank what is unusual, then validate structure before risking capital. TradingFlow is built for that same-session loop.
• GEX and Option Flow for Index TradersIndex traders care about session character: where call/put walls sit, whether gamma is dampening or amplifying, and whether premium is chasing or fading the move.

Related recipes

• P/C deviationSee whose call/put mix shifted versus its own tape, not versus a market-wide 1.0 rule of thumb.
• Flow breadthSee whether the whole session’s option premium leaned one way without assembling Rank by hand.
• Most activeAnswer "what were the most active options today" in one look.