Open Interest study
In the Open Interest study you analyse, with real-time charts, where operators have placed their contracts — the strikes carrying the market’s largest interest. Unlike the intraday chart, this one can aggregate several expirations at once and lets you save snapshots to compare across days.
Open Interest per strike for one expiration: calls in green, puts in red, with the call and put totals and the Put/Call ratio in the legend.
Where it is
Section titled “Where it is”Side menu, Symbol → Position Analysis → Open Interest. It refers to the active symbol and is available on all plans, including Free.
Use it on the symbols institutional desks follow most — SPX, NDX, VIX, GLD and similar. Futures are not supported in this mode.
How to run an analysis
Section titled “How to run an analysis”- Open the Expirations selector and tick one or more expiration dates.
- Optionally set the Strike filter (Moneyness) to restrict the strikes.
- Press Process.
With several expirations selected, the chart shows the total contracts across all of them, which is how you see the aggregate positioning rather than a single series.
Customising the view
Section titled “Customising the view”- Filters — show only the strikes of greatest interest, or customise the selection with the moneyness filter and a custom range.
- Rotate chart — display the bars vertically instead of horizontally.
- Multiple expirations together — select several expirations to see the total contract count across all of them.
- Reset Zoom, Screenshot and Fullscreen for the display.
The summary cards under the chart give Spot Price, Selected Expirations, Max Call Strike and Max Call Open Interest, Max Put Strike and Max Put Open Interest, and the Total Call and Total Put Open Interest. The four “Max” cards keep their English labels in the Italian interface too.
Comparison snapshots
Section titled “Comparison snapshots”You can create a snapshot — a photograph of the current analysis — and compare it with those of following or previous days, to see how positions move over time.
- Create snapshot saves the current state under a name you choose.
- The snapshot dropdown loads any saved snapshot back onto the chart.
- Saved snapshots can be renamed or deleted.
Note: in multi-expiration mode the snapshot feature is not available. Snapshots require exactly one processed expiration, so that what you compare across days is unambiguous.
Why traders use it
Section titled “Why traders use it”The intraday chart answers “where is interest today”. This one answers “where has interest moved”. Two snapshots of the same expiration a week apart show whether a concentration is being built, defended or rolled away, which is a different and usually more actionable question than the level of the largest bar.
Aggregating expirations serves the opposite purpose: it flattens the calendar to show the strikes that matter across the whole listed curve, which is where index-level support and resistance zones tend to emerge.
Common mistakes
Section titled “Common mistakes”- Expecting snapshots in multi-expiration mode. Process a single expiration to enable them.
- Running it on futures. Not supported; the page says so explicitly.
- Using it on illiquid names. Open Interest concentrations only carry information where there is real option volume.
- Comparing snapshots with different strike filters. Keep the filter constant across the snapshots you intend to compare.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Open Interest study in Gaudio OTT?
A position analysis that charts, strike by strike, the number of open option contracts on the active symbol. It can aggregate several expirations at once and lets you save named snapshots to compare positioning across days.
How is the Open Interest study different from the intraday Open Interest chart?
The intraday chart shows one expiration during the current session. The position study can total several expirations together and supports snapshots, so it is the tool for tracking how positioning changes over days rather than within a day.
Why can I not save a snapshot?
Because more than one expiration is processed. Snapshots require exactly one processed expiration, so that the comparison across days refers to a single, unambiguous series.
Does the Open Interest study work on futures?
No. Futures are not supported in the position analyses. Use index, stock and ETF options instead.
Which plans include the Open Interest study?
All of them, including Free. The position Open Interest chart is part of the Position feature group available on every plan.
Which symbols work best for this analysis?
The instruments institutional desks follow most, such as SPX, NDX, VIX and GLD. Open Interest concentrations are only meaningful where option volume is genuinely large.
Related pages
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