Ticker Options Intelligence

STRA options intelligence

Strategic Education Inc options pressure, expected move, strike concentration, and Sharemaestro trend context.

Conviction 36 Market data through 31 Jul 2026 Checked 31 Jul 2026 14:47 · complete available chain

Options-market disagreement

Mixed pressure

STRA currently carries mixed options pressure with a 36/100 conviction score. The nearest-chain expected move is 16.0%, with volume/open-interest participation at 0.33.

Options Intelligence Opportunities Bullish confirmation Risks Unusual flow Vol expansion Repeated pressure Compare Chart Weekly report
Primary read Mixed

Options-market disagreement

Expected move 16.0%

Wider near-term move priced

Activity / OI 0.33

Current volume is quieter versus prior open interest

Put-call 0.90

Balanced tape

Trend fit 62

Options agree with trend context

Weekly backdrop +8.4%

RS -5.5

Expected move 16.0%
Put-call volume 0.90
Volume / OI 0.33
Reference IV 0.71
Max pain 80.00
Underlying 75.64
Nearest expiry 21 Aug 2026
Contracts 52

Research Brief

STRA has a mixed chain read with 36/100 evidence alignment.

The practical question is whether the underlying confirms the options concentration. The chain prices a reference range of 63.54–87.74; The largest call open-interest concentration is 95.00; the largest put concentration is 75.00. The most active strike by current volume is 95.00.

Priced range63.54–87.74
Call concentration95.00
Put concentration75.00
Max pain reference80.00
What would confirm it
  • A clear directional pressure reading develops and price begins to agree.
  • The current chain read already agrees with the stored weekly trend context.
What would weaken it
  • Volatility falls and the chain remains directionally mixed.
  • Front-expiry volatility is rich, so the signal may be event-driven and vulnerable to volatility compression.

Priced Move

Where the chain says movement becomes exceptional

Size, not direction · through 21 Aug

Options imply 63.54 to 87.74. Max pain at 80.00 sits inside that range, 5.8% above spot.

Spot Max pain
63.5475.64 ± 12.1087.74
Confirmation level

A close beyond 87.74 or below 63.54 at the 21 Aug expiry would exceed the move currently priced by this chain.

Important limitation

The range is a pricing reference, not a forecast; volatility can reprice sharply after news or as expiry approaches.

Score Construction

Why conviction is 36/100

Evidence alignment, not probability

Pressure is 10/100 toward calls; conviction uses its strength, while the signal label carries its direction.

Directional pressure10 × 42%
+4.1

How strongly activity leans toward calls or puts.

Participation32 × 22%
+7.0

Volume relative to existing open interest and contract-level activity.

Trend agreement62 × 26%
+16.2

How closely the chain read agrees with the underlying trend backdrop.

Volatility90 × 10%
+9.0

The intensity of implied volatility and the priced move.

Reconstructed score36.2Matches stored calculation

Positioning by Strike

Where open interest and current activity concentrate

Full strike map

The largest call open-interest concentration is 95.00; the largest put concentration is 75.00. The most active strike by current volume is 95.00. Open-interest concentrations show where positions exist; they are not proven support, resistance or dealer exposure.

Put open interestStrikeCall open interest
21
50.00-33.9%
0
1
65.00-14.1%
0
11
70.00-7.5%
1
71
75.00-0.8%
35
57
80.005.8%
36
8
85.0012.4%
11
14
90.0019.0%
11
1
95.0025.6%
308
0
100.0032.2%
0
Nearest spot strike Max pain strikeBars show relative OI within this expiry

Volatility Curve

Front-loaded volatility

2.71× front/back

Near-term options are materially richer than later expirations, consistent with concentrated event or immediate-risk pricing.

0.71 21 Aug 21d
0.61 18 Sep 49d
0.34 16 Oct 77d
0.26 15 Jan 168d

Volatility by Strike

Downside protection premium

Nearest expiry, within 20% of spot

Out-of-the-money puts carry higher implied volatility than comparable calls, indicating richer downside protection.

65
70
75
80
85
90
Put IV Call IV

Historical Replay

How matured reads behaved through expiry

0 directional observations

Forward validation is building. The earliest eligible stored read expires 21 Aug 2026; its result will appear after the matched closing reference is stored.

Directional follow-through-
Moves contained by pricing-
Average expiry move-
Validation readiness
  • Versioned calculationv2 observations only
  • Independent entryone read per market session
  • Point-in-time referencerequired at entry
  • Matched expiry closereported only after maturity

Only v2 snapshots with a point-in-time market reference are eligible. Each observation uses one read per market session and the first weekly close on or immediately after expiry. It is an evidence audit, not an executable strategy or evidence of future performance.

Evidence Quality

High

A96/100
Retained chain100%
Implied volatility100%
Two-sided quotes100%
Open interest100%
Chain status
Complete available chain
Market date
31 Jul 2026
Calculation
v2.0
Contracts
52 / 52
  • No material coverage gap was detected in the retained chain.

Aggregate chain data supports concentration, participation and pricing analysis. It does not identify trade aggressor, opening versus closing activity, multi-leg intent or dealer inventory.

Options Intent Radar

Multi-expiry position-maintenance candidate

64/100
Primary intent Multi-expiry position-maintenance candidate

Activity is spread across expirations with heavier open interest than current volume, which can be consistent with position maintenance.

Flow vs price divergence No clean flow/price divergence

The options read is mixed, so divergence is not strong enough to classify.

Why this matters

Multi-expiry position-maintenance candidate matters because it connects the options headline to the actual evidence: $116182 of estimated gross traded notional, calls · 8-21 days · atm, and a no clean flow/price divergence backdrop. Use it as a research priority signal, then validate the chart, liquidity, event calendar, and risk before acting.

Options pressure+10
1W price+8.4%
Call premium70%
Put premium30%
Notional split C 70% / P 30% Estimated gross traded notional uses volume × contract multiplier × midpoint, or last price when no valid midpoint is available.
Freshness 0.33 Volume divided by open interest across the visible chain.
Trend fit 62/100 Agreement between options pressure and Sharemaestro market context.
Aggregate chain data does not identify trade aggressor or opening versus closing activity; call/put concentration is not proof of market direction. Roll detection is conservative because opening and closing legs are not directly observable in this snapshot.
Conviction clusters Calls · 8-21 days · ATM
Calls · 8-21 days · ATM calls cluster with 26 contracts traded, $30550 estimated gross traded notional, and 26% of visible notional.
$30550
Calls · 91+ days · ITM calls cluster with 21 contracts traded, $26005 estimated gross traded notional, and 22% of visible notional.
$26005
Puts · 46-90 days · OTM puts cluster with 131 contracts traded, $16270 estimated gross traded notional, and 14% of visible notional.
$16270
Calls · 46-90 days · OTM calls cluster with 113 contracts traded, $7663 estimated gross traded notional, and 7% of visible notional.
$7663
Puts · 91+ days · ATM puts cluster with 20 contracts traded, $7000 estimated gross traded notional, and 6% of visible notional.
$7000

Setup Classification

Opportunity and risk frame

Context, not advice
Warning Volatility expansion

The tape is pricing or displaying unusually elevated activity.

Warning Event-risk setup

Expected move or upcoming earnings makes the setup more event-sensitive.

Activity Anomaly

Warming up

-

3 of 10 completed market sessions are available. More session history is needed before activity can be compared with a reliable normal.

Baseline: 3 completed sessions

Volume rank-
Volume/OI rank-
IV rank-

Market Context

Underlying confirmation

Sharemaestro weekly
Close82.00
1W+8.4%
RS-5.5
Fair value-3.8%
Options pressure10
Speculation32
Volatility90
Trend fit62

Today Versus Normal

Stored-options context

View history
Expected move 16.0% history building
30d avg - · 3/10 sessions -
90d avg - · 3/30 sessions -
180d avg - · 3/60 sessions -
IV 0.71 history building
30d avg - · 3/10 sessions -
90d avg - · 3/30 sessions -
180d avg - · 3/60 sessions -
Put-call 0.90 history building
30d avg - · 3/10 sessions -
90d avg - · 3/30 sessions -
180d avg - · 3/60 sessions -
Volume/OI 0.33 history building
30d avg - · 3/10 sessions -
90d avg - · 3/30 sessions -
180d avg - · 3/60 sessions -

Pressure Trail

Recent pressure and volatility

Open trail
29 Jul 11:03 Bullish
Pressure 76
Move 14.3%
30 Jul 10:52 Bullish
Pressure 98
Move 16.8%
31 Jul 09:14 Bullish
Pressure 46
Move 14.7%
31 Jul 13:47 Mixed
Pressure 10
Move 16.0%

Strike Map

Where activity is clustering

Full strike map
Strike50.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 20 · OI 21
Strike65.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 1 · OI 1
Strike70.00
Calls · V 1 · OI 1
Puts · V 2 · OI 11
Strike75.00
Calls · V 26 · OI 35
Puts · V 7 · OI 71
Strike80.00
Calls · V 2 · OI 36
Puts · V 1 · OI 57
Strike85.00
Calls · V 1 · OI 11
Puts · V 1 · OI 8
Strike90.00
Calls · V 7 · OI 11
Puts · V 2 · OI 14
Strike95.00
Calls · V 48 · OI 308
Puts · V 1 · OI 1

Term Structure

Expiration activity

Volume and IV
Expiry21 Aug 2026
Contracts15
Avg IV0.71
Put-call0.41
Expiry18 Sep 2026
Contracts7
Avg IV0.61
Put-call0.63
Expiry16 Oct 2026
Contracts16
Avg IV0.34
Put-call1.24
Expiry15 Jan 2027
Contracts14
Avg IV0.26
Put-call1.11

Skew

Call/put IV balance

OTM demand
21 Aug 2026Put IV premium
Call IV0.59
Put IV0.75
Skew0.15
18 Sep 2026Balanced skew
Call IV0.43
Put IV0.45
Skew0.02
16 Oct 2026Put IV premium
Call IV0.00
Put IV0.44
Skew0.44
15 Jan 2027Put IV premium
Call IV0.00
Put IV0.06
Skew0.06

Contract Tape

Most active contracts

Full contract tape
ContractSTRA270115P00045000
SidePut
Expiry15 Jan 2027
Strike45.00
Volume-
OI22
IV0.84
ContractSTRA261016C00070000
SideCall
Expiry16 Oct 2026
Strike70.00
Volume-
OI10
IV0.34
ContractSTRA270115C00080000
SideCall
Expiry15 Jan 2027
Strike80.00
Volume-
OI1
IV0.00
ContractSTRA261016C00040000
SideCall
Expiry16 Oct 2026
Strike40.00
Volume-
OI1
IV0.82
ContractSTRA270115P00090000
SidePut
Expiry15 Jan 2027
Strike90.00
Volume-
OI1
IV0.37
ContractSTRA260918P00060000
SidePut
Expiry18 Sep 2026
Strike60.00
Volume-
OI1
IV0.97
ContractSTRA270115C00095000
SideCall
Expiry15 Jan 2027
Strike95.00
Volume-
OI-
IV0.06
ContractSTRA260821P00100000
SidePut
Expiry21 Aug 2026
Strike100.00
Volume-
OI-
IV0.00