QQQCOCT 22Open interest change
Open interest in QQQ calls expiring Oct 22 (1 week out) rose 7,919 at the Oct 15 settlement
12,708 to 20,627 contracts between the Oct 14 and Oct 15 settlements, 62% of the prior figure.
QQQ · PUTS · NOV 20Settled
QQQ puts expiring Nov 20 traded 2.4x the calls, vs a 1.2x median
As of , published from Oct 15, 2026, 09:54 ET. The evidence table and the rule that fired are at squawkflow.com/options-flow/2026-10-15/qqq-puts-nov-20-2026-put-call-skew, with the follow-up recorded at Oct 16, 2026, 08:30 ET. Source: Schwab options chain.
The median is QQQ's put/call volume ratio for contracts 1 to 3 months out over the last 5 sessions. 7,078 put and 2,965 call contracts by 09:39 ET on Oct 15, 2026. Tracked: up to 40 strikes around the money across 32 expirations.
Evidence
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Call volume (contracts) | 2,965 |
| Put volume (contracts) | 7,078 |
| Call open interest, prior settlement | 58,933 |
| Put open interest, prior settlement | 234,300 |
| Call premium, est. (USD) | $4.9M |
| Put premium, est. (USD) | $10.4M |
| Put/call volume ratio | 2.4x |
| Days to expiry | 36 |
Why it fired
- Rule
- put/call volume >= max(1.5, 1.75 x baseline median); put volume >= 2000
- Values that cleared it
- Put volume (contracts): 7,078; Ratio: 2.39
- Contracts traded behind each figure
- Calls: 29; Puts: 38
- Baseline
- median put/call volume ratio, contracts 1 to 3 months out: 1.17
- Baseline window
- last 20 sessions
- Baseline n
- 5
- Claim level
- 2, compared with a baseline
Last-trade position, raw counts
Count of contracts whose single last trade sat near the ask or bid. Not the side of the session's volume. It is not used in the headline.
| Side of chain | Near ask | Near bid | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calls | 0 | 26 | 3 |
| Puts | 35 | 0 | 3 |
What happened next
- Next settlement: Open interest in QQQ puts expiring Nov 20 rose 33,171 at the Oct 15 settlement, to 778,558.
- Expiry, Nov 20, 2026: Pending expiry.
More QQQ snapshots, Oct 15, 2026
All QQQ snapshots on the hub- QQQPOCT 27Open interest change
Open interest in QQQ puts expiring Oct 27 (2 weeks out) rose 7,572 at the Oct 15 settlement
13,200 to 20,772 contracts between the Oct 14 and Oct 15 settlements, 57% of the prior figure.
- QQQCOCT 19Put/call by expiry
QQQ calls outnumbered puts 1.6 to 1 expiring Oct 19, vs a 0.9 median
The median is QQQ's call/put volume ratio for contracts within a week over the last 5 sessions. 112,062 call and 71,889 put contracts by 13:44 ET on Oct 15, 2026. Tracked: up to 40 strikes around the money across 32 expirations.
- QQQP716OCT 15Volume vs open interest
QQQ 716 puts expiring Oct 15 (same day) traded 5.6x their open interest
QQQ puts expiring that date in the strikes we track traded 1.1x their open interest, by 09:39 ET on Oct 15, 2026. Tracked: up to 40 strikes around the money across 32 expirations.
- QQQNear vs far dates
QQQ put/call volume ratio held at 1.14 within 3 weeks, against 2.41 1 to 3 months out
Within 3 weeks: 229,615 put and 201,234 call contracts. 1 to 3 months out: 16,943 put and 7,040 call contracts. By 09:39 ET on Oct 15, 2026. Tracked: up to 40 strikes around the money across 32 expirations.
- QQQPOCT 30Put/call by expiry
QQQ puts expiring Oct 30 (2 weeks out) traded 3.5x the calls, vs a 0.9x median
The median is QQQ's put/call volume ratio for contracts 1 to 3 weeks out over the last 5 sessions. 2,808 put and 794 call contracts by 09:34 ET on Oct 15, 2026. Tracked: up to 40 strikes around the money across 32 expirations.