Whales Auto Tracker

Screening Filters

1. Market Cap ≥ $5,000,000,000

   • Purpose: Focus on large, established companies (“big fish”) where institutional/whale activity is most meaningful.
   • Rationale: The term “Whales” generally refers to large, sophisticated investors (hedge funds, institutions, big traders). They concentrate most of their activity in mid/large caps because:
     • There’s enough liquidity to move size without huge slippage.
     • Their trades are more likely to show up as detectable “unusual activity.”
       Filtering to ≥$5B market cap steers the tracker toward stocks where whale flows are more likely and more reliable.

2. Relative Volume ≥ 1.2

   • Purpose: Highlight tickers trading at least 20% above their normal volume, i.e., unusually active right now.
   • Rationale: A “Whales Auto Tracker” is about surfacing where whales are currently acting, not just any tradable stock. Relative volume > 1 means today’s trading is heavier than usual; ≥1.2 filters for clearly elevated activity that may indicate large players entering/exiting positions.

3. Monthly Average Dollar Volume ≥ $500,000

   • Purpose: Ensure the stocks are sufficiently liquid in dollar terms to support meaningful whale-sized trades.
   • Rationale: A high dollar volume (price × shares traded) means:
     • Big orders can be executed without completely distorting the price.
     • The “unusual” volume/option activity is more likely to be institutional rather than random retail noise.
       This aligns with the idea of tracking whale flows rather than thin, easily manipulated names.

4. Exchange in [NYSE (XNYS), NASDAQ (XNAS), AMEX (XASE)]

   • Purpose: Limit to major U.S. exchanges where institutional participation and options markets are deepest and data quality is highest.
   • Rationale: Whales tend to operate heavily in:
     • Well-regulated, transparent markets.
     • Names listed on primary U.S. exchanges with robust options chains.
       This avoids OTC/pink sheet names and focuses the tracker on mainstream, institutional-grade securities.

5. Is Optionable = True

   • Purpose: Only include stocks that have listed options.
   • Rationale: Most whale-tracking tools focus heavily on options flow (large call/put buys, spreads, sweeps, etc.), because:
     • Options offer leverage and are a preferred vehicle for big, directional or hedging bets.
     • Large, unusual options trades are one of the clearest “whale footprint” signals.
       Requiring “optionable” ensures the tracker is looking at names where such option flows can even exist.

6. Option Unusual Activity = True

   • Purpose: Directly capture stocks showing current unusual options activity—the core of a whales tracker.
   • Rationale: This is the key filter that turns a generic stock screener into a whale-flow tool:
     • Flags tickers where options volume/open interest, trade size, or flow pattern deviates sharply from normal.
     • These anomalies are exactly what you’d expect from large players putting on or taking off significant positions.
       In short, this is the “whale footprint” trigger.

Why Results Match the Idea of a “Whales Auto Tracker”:

• The screen restricts to large, liquid, institutionally traded stocks where whale activity is realistic and detectable (market cap, dollar volume, major exchanges).
• It then filters further to optionable names with elevated stock volume and flagged unusual options activity, which is precisely where large, sophisticated traders are most likely leaving visible footprints.
• Together, these filters create an automated scan that constantly surfaces the most likely candidates for current “whale” trades—matching what a “Whales Auto Tracker” is meant to do.