Do you like to trade using unusual options activity? Then, our Cheddar Flow review is for you. Cheddar Flow is a real-time data platform that scans for calls and puts. This is data that institutional investors use. Now it’s at your fingertips!
Cheddar Flow is a trading site and platform that can follow unusual options activity on the stock market. It gathers real-time data on large calls or orders against a specific stock. You might be wondering how this would help you as a normal trader. Well, it certainly provides an insight into how institutions trade stock options. It also gives an excellent look at the current market sentiment for that company.
Cheddar Flow is a subscription-based site. They provide exclusive data to their users. It’s one of just a few unusual options activity platforms that have popped up for retail traders in the past few years. Before these sites were established, this data was almost exclusively for institutional investors.
As trading has become more mainstream and online, it’s been easier for retail traders to access previously undisclosed information! Let’s continue with our Cheddar Flow review.
Unusual Options Activity
If you’ve been hanging out on FinTwit Reddit or any other investing discussion group, you’ve probably heard mention of unusual options activity. While there isn’t a true textbook definition, it’s usually any block of options contracts larger than a ‘normal’ order. These are generally considered ‘whale’ orders, ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of contracts in a single order. As you can imagine, some of these orders can be valued in the millions of dollars.
Does unusual options activity tell us anything? While it’s never a guaranteed investing strategy, following smart money has long been considered a good idea. A lot of these institutional investment firms trade with algorithms and technical analysis.
These trades are executed without emotion. As a result, the moves create market sentiment for a particular stock. Remember that option orders generally don’t affect the underlying stock’s price. If you follow Cheddar Flow’s flow scanner, you can stay one step ahead of the markets! What else does our Cheddar Flow review say?
Cheddar Flow Scanner
Below these headers is the real meat of the scanner. First, you will notice that the list of options activities constantly updates in real time. You can easily filter by time, ticker symbol, spot, size, strike price, premium, volume, or order type. Talk about a fully customizable options flow dashboard!
The list is also color-coded, with call orders appearing in green and put orders in red. If the order is part of a sweeper order, which means a group of options orders of the same asset, they will appear in yellow, making it easy to keep track of the separate orders. For a platform that provides some pretty complex information, Cheddar Flow’s flow scanner is easy to use with little training and instruction!
Sentiment Tracking
Like any sentiment tracking platform, the CheddarFlow Scanner is the heart and soul of the site. Once you log in to the CheddarFlow platform, you’ll immediately be taken to the scanner dashboard. One look at the CheddarFlow scanner, which tells you everything you need to know about the site! You’ll see four headers across the top of the scanner: Flow Sentiment, Put to Call ratio, Call Flow, and Put Flow.
The Flow Sentiment gives you an idea of the overall sentiment of the markets. If it’s bullish, you can likely bet traders are buying more call orders. If it’s bearish, more orders will likely be placed. The headers are color-coded, with easy-to-understand visuals regardless of your trading experience.
The put-to-call ratio is important to keep track of. Especially when gauging the sentiment of the markets. Remember, not all puts are bearish, and not all calls are bullish. That is the one thing to remember when tracking unusual options activity. The put-to-call ratio is a good way to track the general market move. Please don’t use it as your final trade decision, though!
Call Flow and Put Flow are self-explanatory, and just like the Call ratio, do not unthinkingly follow these flows. These two headers will provide the total number of Calls and Put orders and a visual graph. Again, this is a very simple and user-friendly layout to follow!
COMPANY |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| DESCRIPTION | Trade Ideas provides powerful tools like real-time market scanning, AI-driven trade signals, customizable alerts, advanced charting capabilities, and time-saving data visualization | Barchart.com is the leading provider of real-time or delayed intraday stock and commodities charts and quotes. Track and analyze your investments and keep tabs on your portfolio | FinViz is an online stock screening, research, and visualization platform that offers various trading tools on a single platform. Solid scanner for traders or investors |
| HIGHLIGHTS | Trade smarter • Trade faster • Ease of use • Artificial intelligence • Real-time scanning • Customizable Trade Ideas > | Real-time quotes • Equities scanner • Ease of use • Track your investments • Analyze portfolio Barchart > | Stock screener • Powerful research tool • Heat map • Ease of use • Financial visualizations Finviz > |
Other Features
Since its inception, Cheddar Flow has bulked up on its additional features. It is no longer just an options flow screener! The platform now has a fully interactive charting section, allowing users to use their technical analysis when following order flows. Charting has been gaining popularity amongst retail investors and can be an excellent tool for predicting future stock behavior!
Another feature that Cheddar Flow added is the Dark Pool levels. What are Dark Pool levels? The Dark Pool is a separate exchange outside the normal markets where large block orders are placed. These orders would be large enough to affect the underlying stock price, so having them on regular exchanges would not be appropriate. We are talking about orders worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars!
The Dark Pool has recently made headlines as Reddit investors have complained about market manipulation. Specifically, large orders of meme stocks like AMC (NYSE: AMC) have been tracked through the Dark Pool. The issue with relying on Dark Pool data is that it only shows the orders and not if they are bullish or bearish in sentiment.
Additionally, in Cheddar Flow, you can look up the historical flow of orders, as well as customize your watchlist, where you can set notifications. CheddarFlow even offers an educational page about topics like Dark Pool Flow, unusual options, and technical analysis! Which is what we love about his Cheddar Flow review.
Cheddar Flow Pricing Review
So, how much does an options flow tool like Cheddar Flow cost? First, if you want to try the platform out, Cheddar Flow offers a free seven-day trial where you can cancel any time! If, after seven days, you want to sign up for the full subscription, you have a couple of different options. Cheddar Flow has three different subscription levels for new users: the Standard Plan, the Pro Annual Plan, and the Professional Plan.
The three levels range from $75.00 to $99.00 monthly and offer slightly different features. While most retail traders probably only need the Standard plan, some will probably like the Pro Annual plan’s upfront discount. It’s also not a big jump to the Professional Plan, which would provide all of the features Cheddar Flow offers!
On top of that, right now, if you sign up during November, you get access to Cheddar Flow’s Black Friday sale! By entering the code BF21, you can receive up to 40% off CheddarFlow’s regular subscription prices! That sounds like a Cheddar Flow review winner to me.
CheddarFlow Users
Cheddar Flow can help any trader as long as they know how to use the information properly. If you are new to options trading, it might help to take some of the Cheddar Flow education courses. If you want to get into day trading or swing trading, CheddarFlow will provide you with the minute-by-minute market sentiment important for these trades. For long-term buy-and-hold investors, Cheddar Flow can show where institutions believe a stock is heading.
Is it essential for trading? The short answer is probably no. As mentioned, no trading tool should be used as an absolute decision-maker in making a trade. Use Cheddar Flow alongside your research and technical analysis. While following smart money has always been considered profitable, institutions can and do get trades wrong.
Final Thoughts: Cheddar Flow Review
We hope you enjoyed this Cheddar Flow review. So, is Cheddar Flow worth it for the everyday trader? Our sentiment is a resounding yes! Until a few years ago, this data type was unavailable to retail investors. If you can utilize Cheddar Flow’s information, it is not unreasonable to think you can make back the annual subscription cost in one well-executed trade!
Cheddar Flow is one of the easiest platforms we have ever used and has nearly zero learning curve for new users. One glance at the options scanner will tell you everything you need to know about how to use it! The additional features of charting, educational courses, and Dark Pool flow make Cheddar Flow one of the most robust options scanners on the market and an important tool in any trader’s arsenal!
Frequently Asked Questions
Investors cannot purchase shares of SweepCast because the company is privately held.
Cheddar Flow is a good platform for tracking options order flow. The provide real-time data, AI signals, and the tracking of institutional trades.
Cheddar Flow is not free, however, they offer a 7 day free trial on their Standard Plan, which costs $45 per month.
Blaze Kuklinski is the founder of Cheddar Flow.
How to cancel your Cheddar Flow account:
- Log into your account
- Click Profile - Payment Info
- Click Cancel Subscription
