What Are Options Sweeps? - Bullish Bears

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What Are Sweeps in Options Trading?

By Mike Bolin

Updated October 8, 2025

6 min read

Reviewed by Angelica Rieder
Fact checked by Lucien Bechard

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What are options sweeps? The trading world is continually evolving and upgrading itself. The world of options alone has diversified immensely, and numerous techniques and tools are coming out daily. One such occurrence in the market that traders pay attention to is options sweeps. These options trades allow traders to swiftly purchase many options contracts in several transactions across multiple exchanges on a particular stock with short notice.

All while still staying under the radar. (Unless you have a service like BlackBox or QuantData that monitors such sweeps in real-time. Putting it plainly, a sweep is a large option order that has been further segmented into smaller orders, which can be filled out quickly on the exchanges compared to if a large order is placed all at once on one exchange where there isn’t enough liquidity. So, how do you see options sweeps? And are options sweeps useful to traders?

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Table of Contents

What Is an Options Sweep?
- Importance of Options Sweeps
Best Options Sweeps Software
- 1. QuantData
- 2. BlackBoxStocks Scanner
- 3. Benzinga Pro
Related Articles on Options Sweeps
- Quantum AI Trading
- Option Flow Data Explained
- Money Flow Index Indicator (MFI) Explained
Final Thoughts: Options Sweeps
Frequently Asked Questions

What Is an Options Sweep?

So what happens with options sweeps? Brokers are advised to scout and find the best prices in the market regardless of the order size and fill your order piece by piece until your order is fulfilled. Multiple similar orders will be carried out just milliseconds apart, and these can often equal very large sizes when added up. Are options sweeps useful to traders? These orders are useful for institutional traders who prefer both speed and size.

Importance of Options Sweeps

While the trading world is vast and has many traders, all with different trading styles and strategies, the high-net-worth traders are the ones that influence the market to some extent.

Monitoring traders with substantial financial banking can help regular traders understand the potential future market moves.

If a particular stock has been experiencing a large options sweep, then there is a likelihood of some positive future outcomes expected from the company.

For example, it could indicate strong earnings reports from these companies in the coming weeks. Are options sweeps useful to traders? Options sweeps are important if you’re into options trading.

Best Options Sweeps Software

Do you know how to see options sweeps? There are multiple software that you can use for an options sweep. Here are the three that we recommend.

Quantdata
Benzinga
Blackbox stocks

Our team has personally tested all these platforms. We even have detailed reviews if you want to learn more about their functionality and perks.

1. QuantData

QuantData is a system that uses unique algorithms to help filter the options flow. We have also found that the UI is also much easier to read.

The platform has numerous common dashboard features that allow you to get a market overview of stock performance. Along with trading volume, among other important indicators.

QuantData has sweeps categorized under their unusual options category. In addition, for sweeps that exceed $1M in value, the platform highlights the exchanges in gold.

This feature helps traders find the best trading time to sell or purchase a stock.

The platform also has the option of a filter. There, you can filter down the options flow to your specific stocks and the largest or most unusual orders.

If you’re looking for a simplified platform that can alert you to bullish and bearish market movements, then QuantData can be a good fit for all your trading needs.

Apart from sweeps, it can help you execute multiple different trading strategies. News also seems to travel quickly on QuantData. And as we all know, time is money.

The data on Quant is reliable because they’re pulling their figures in from Refinitiv. You can easily export PDF reports. And you also get data from Bezinga with your Quant subscription, which you must pay for separately.

2. BlackBoxStocks Scanner

The best thing for a trader is the ability to watch real-time quotes with no delays. BlackBoxStocks is a powerful scanner and has unique functionalities. As a result, these stocks provide excellent tools alongside a strong community. And the price is competitive.

With BlackBox, you can add in price per share alerts. So you can get to know things like the price per share alert and the stock symbol, strike price, and expiration date.

The system is also user-friendly and easy to learn, and they have powerful tools like their options and stocks scanner, which can help you find lucrative deals almost instantaneously.

BlackBox’s features shine in the pre-market stage, where their real-time metrics and data can help traders figure out the market mood. The user interface is also very friendly, making it a great option for newbie traders.

Their high-quality newsfeeds make it incredibly easy for traders to stay updated with recent events and occurrences.

Once you are comfortable using this platform, you will realize this is a great stock screener to add to your trading tools.

3. Benzinga Pro

Benzinga Pro is another great stock screener app with powerful functions like charting unusual options, activity scans, and a community chat room.

The platform supports six news sources, and you can also use the custom filters to filter the stocks you want to watch.

You can screen stocks and options through various metrics like market cap, volatility, moving averages, etc. You can also use the platform to monitor unusual options and activities.

This tool alerts you towards large block trades at or near the bid. It can help you understand whether investors are taking a bullish or bearish bid on security.

This platform is ideal for those who prefer much detail, and it works best on our regular browsers. So, instead of spending time charting, setting your orders, and applying filters every time, you can get everything done from one browser and in real-time. Additionally, it is a great place to start options trading from scratch.

If you want real-time updates about option sweeps, these platforms are the place to be. With the current trading world and its progressions, old trading techniques are quickly becoming obsolete, and it is more essential than ever to have the fastest software for your trading needs.

Final Thoughts: Options Sweeps

Institutional traders use options sweeps to hide large trades from retail traders. They don’t want to move markets unnecessarily. Do you know how to see options sweeps? You can use dark pool algos to find the institutional trades happening on the down-low.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Call Sweep Good or Bad?

A call sweep is typically bullish. It's when buying happens above the ask price. Traders take advantage if they feel bullish on a particular security.

What Are Golden Sweeps in Options?

Golden sweeps need to have a minimum of $1M in premium, and the order needs to have more than the current open interest of the contract.

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