Stocks Wey Get Highest Implied Volatility Right Now

Implied volatility na wetin the market dey price for one stock future movement, and you fit read am from the option prices. Most of the market dey move quietly; small small names carry option prices wey dey imply say big-big swings dey ahead. This page dey rank them: the US stocks wey their near-the-money options carry the highest implied volatility right now, wey dem measure from the most recent session closing prices and dem dey refresh am with the weekly batch.

The board: highest implied volatility right now

SELECT underlying_symbol AS ticker,
       round(100 * quantileExact(0.5)(implied_volatility), 1) AS atm_iv_pct,
       round(100 * quantileExact(0.5)(option_close / underlying_close), 1) AS option_price_pct_of_stock,
       count() AS contracts_measured,
       sum(volume) AS contracts_traded
FROM global_markets.options_greeks
WHERE date = (SELECT max(date) FROM global_markets.options_greeks)
  AND iv_converged AND implied_volatility BETWEEN 0.02 AND 5
  AND abs(strike_price / underlying_close - 1) <= 0.05
  AND expiration_date BETWEEN date + 7 AND date + 60
  AND underlying_symbol NOT IN ('KORU','SOXL','SOXS','TQQQ','SQQQ','NVDL','NVDS','NVD','TSLL','TSLQ','TSLZ','SPXL','SPXS','UPRO','SPXU','LABU','LABD','FAS','FAZ','TNA','TZA','YINN','YANG','UDOW','SDOW','BOIL','KOLD','UCO','SCO','USD','SSO','SDS','QLD','QID','ERX','ERY','DRN','DRV','CURE','SOXY','MUU','SNXX','UVXY','SVXY','UVIX','SVIX','BULZ','WEBL','WEBS','DPST','DRIP','GUSH','AGQ','ZSL','BITX','ETHU','MSTX','MSTU','CONL','DUST','JNUG','JDST','NUGT','AMDL','NUAI')
GROUP BY underlying_symbol
HAVING sum(volume) >= 2000 AND count() >= 20
ORDER BY atm_iv_pct DESC
LIMIT 12

Each row na one underlying, dem measure am across the near-the-money contracts (strikes wey dey within 5% of the stock price) wey dey expire one week to two months out — that part of the option chain where implied volatility cleanest to read. The board top name, BE, carry ATM implied volatility of 203.6%, and the median contract for the set wey dem measure dey trade at 18.4% of the stock price.

Implied volatility wey pass 100% na striking number: option prices wey dey consistent with the stock moving on the order of the whole value over one year. The names wey carry am dey cluster for recognizable groups — recent IPOs, pre-earnings movers, and single-industry stocks wey dey ride one hot or broken theme.

To keep the list readable, dem don exclude leveraged and inverse ETFs: one 3x fund carry three times the index volatility by construction, and board full of them no go say anything about individual stocks. Thin chains dem exclude too — every name here get at least 20 measurable contracts and 2,000 contracts wey trade for the session.

The other end: wetin calm cost

SELECT round(100 * quantileExact(0.5)(implied_volatility), 1) AS spy_atm_iv_pct,
       round(100 * quantileExact(0.5)(option_close / underlying_close), 1) AS spy_option_price_pct_of_stock,
       count() AS contracts_measured
FROM global_markets.options_greeks
WHERE date = (SELECT max(date) FROM global_markets.options_greeks)
  AND underlying_symbol = 'SPY'
  AND iv_converged AND implied_volatility BETWEEN 0.02 AND 5
  AND abs(strike_price / underlying_close - 1) <= 0.05
  AND expiration_date BETWEEN date + 7 AND date + 60

The same yardstick on SPY read 14.2% — the board top name dey price in movement wey pass ten times larger. The gap show directly for premium: near-the-money SPY contract dey trade around 0.8% of the fund price, against 18.4% for BE. Every dollar of optionality cost more where the expected motion bigger; the liquid-versus-volatile comparison dey walk through that trade-off contract by contract.

Where the whole market sit

SELECT count() AS underlyings_measured,
       round(100 * quantileExact(0.25)(iv), 1) AS p25_iv_pct,
       round(100 * quantileExact(0.5)(iv), 1)  AS median_iv_pct,
       round(100 * quantileExact(0.75)(iv), 1) AS p75_iv_pct,
       round(100 * quantileExact(0.95)(iv), 1) AS p95_iv_pct
FROM (
    SELECT underlying_symbol, quantileExact(0.5)(implied_volatility) AS iv
    FROM global_markets.options_greeks
    WHERE date = (SELECT max(date) FROM global_markets.options_greeks)
      AND iv_converged AND implied_volatility BETWEEN 0.02 AND 5
      AND abs(strike_price / underlying_close - 1) <= 0.05
      AND expiration_date BETWEEN date + 7 AND date + 60
    GROUP BY underlying_symbol
    HAVING sum(volume) >= 200
)

Across 880 underlyings with active option chains, the median ATM implied volatility na 52.3%, the top quartile start at 83.7%, and the 95th percentile sit at 131.6%. The board above na the far right tail of this distribution. Note wetin the distribution dey measure: actively traded option chains dey skew toward the market most-watched names, and quiet mega-caps dey sit well below the median here.

How to read the board without getting burned

High implied volatility no be buy signal and no be sell signal — na price. Option sellers for these names dey collect fat premiums and carry the risk say the move go pass them; option buyers dey pay up front for exposure wey the market already expect to be violent. The one reliable statement na relative: vega largest exactly where this board dey, so positions for these names gain and lose value on shifts for the volatility itself, no be only on the stock direction. Around scheduled events the pattern sharpens — implied volatility dey build into earnings and dey collapse after the report, and several board regulars dey there for exactly that reason.

FAQ

Wetin count as high implied volatility?

Against the current market, the top quartile of actively traded names start near 83.7% and the 95th percentile near 131.6%. The board names sit above even that, with the leader at 203.6%.

Why dem dey exclude leveraged ETFs from this list?

Levered or inverse fund dey multiply the index daily move by construction, and the options dey price that one in — one 3x semiconductor fund go top this board every week without saying anything about one individual company. To exclude them dey keep the list about single names.

High implied volatility good or bad for options traders?

Neither — na the price of movement. Sellers dey collect larger premiums and carry larger risk; buyers dey get exposure to big moves at big up-front cost. Wetin matter na whether the realized move go pass wetin the price imply.

How dem dey measure the implied volatility for this page?

From each underlying near-the-money contracts (strikes within 5% of the stock price, expiring 7-60 days out) at the latest session close, keeping only contracts where the volatility solve converge. The page value na the median across those contracts, refreshed with the weekly batch.

Every number above na stored, versioned query over the full options tape — expand any panel to audit the measurement, or screen implied volatility across any name for the Strasmore terminal. For the concept itself, start with wetin implied volatility be; for how e dey decay after events, see earnings and the greeks.