Loading
Loading
Loading the page you asked for
The rest of the page is on its way and will be here in a moment.
Loading
Start here
BigTape shows you the unusually large trades on the stocks and ETFs you follow. This guide takes about five minutes. Every example runs on sample data, so try each one as you go.
Step 1 of 8
Every time shares change hands, the trade gets reported. Each report is called a print, and it carries a price, a size and a time. Most prints are small. BigTape picks out the unusually large ones and puts them on the chart as marks, at the time and price they traded.
Step 2 of 8
Size alone can mislead. A $40 million trade is routine in the biggest companies and huge in a small one. So every big print gets two numbers. The first is its size in dollars. The second is its rank among that ticker's own trades since 2016.
Ranks are all-time for this ticker, since 2016. The ranks have names. A
The chart draws the best-ranked prints in the part of the chart you're looking at. The Prints control starts at Show 10; pick Show 5, Show 20, Show 50 or Show all. Zoom or pan and the chart picks again for the new span.
Step 3 of 8
Every mark follows one rule. Shape is the kind of trade. Circles are trades, rounded squares are
A few marks are special cases, like a dashed outline for a
Step 4 of 8
Exchange trades happen on a public stock exchange. Dark trades happen off-exchange, at a private venue or inside a broker. Dark trading is normal and gets reported like any other trade. The name only means it happened away from a public exchange.
Every trade has a buyer and a seller, and the report doesn't say which side started it. So BigTape never gives a print a direction. You get what traded, how much, where and when.
Step 5 of 8
When a lot of Dark dollar volume trades in one price zone, the chart shades it as a
The chart draws the best-ranked levels in the price range you're looking at. The Levels control starts at Show 5; pick Off, Show 3, Show 10 or Show 20. Pan to an older span and a different set appears.
Two moments get marked. A
Step 6 of 8
Sometimes large Dark trades come in a bunch. A
Step 7 of 8
Look for the chip at the top of every screen. It tells you the state of the data and the time of the last update.
Right now it reads Delayed 15 min. Each print shows up at least 15 minutes after the trade happened.
Right now it reads Live. Data is updating in real time.
If updates stop, it reads Stale and shows when they stopped. On a quiet day, it reads No unusual activity. If it reads Replay, you're watching a past session, and only what was known at that moment shows. In this guide it also says SAMPLE DATA, because every trade here is generated for practice.
Step 8 of 8
Tap the star on any chart to add it to your favorites. Each one stays beside the chart with today's change and the all-time rank of its last ranked print. Set an alert, like a
On a computer, press N and P to step through prints. On a phone, tap any mark.
Reference
Every mark and zone on the chart, with what it is and what it can and cannot tell you. None of them says which side started a trade or where price goes next. Ranks are all-time for this ticker, since 2016.
What it is A trade printed on a public stock exchange. Drawn solid.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Where it traded and how big it was. Not who started it, or why.
What it is A trade done off-exchange, at a private venue or inside a broker. Drawn as a hollow ring.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't It traded away from an exchange. The public report doesn't say which side started it.
What it is This ticker's largest single trade since 2016. The biggest mark, with 1 inside.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't How big the trade is against this ticker's own history. Never whether it matters.
What it is One of this ticker's 10 largest trades since 2016. Its rank number sits inside the mark.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Its size against this ticker's own history. Never whether it matters.
What it is One of this ticker's 100 largest trades since 2016. A smaller mark.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Its size against this ticker's own history. Never whether it matters.
What it is Bigger than 99.9% of this ticker's trades since 2016; $50,000 minimum.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Unusual in size for this ticker since 2016. Not a direction, and not a reason to act.
What it is The exchange's single opening match, which sets the official opening price. Drawn as a rounded square.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Scheduled volume many funds aim at, so it is often large. Less unusual than that size mid-session.
What it is The exchange's single closing match, which sets the official closing price. Drawn as a rounded square.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Index funds and others aim at it, so it is often the day's largest print and ranks high.
What it is One order filled across two or more venues within 5 milliseconds. A diamond, solid or hollow.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Someone wanted size quickly. Not which side, and not why.
What it is Several large Dark trades close together in price and time, boxed with their total.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Large Dark trades gathered in one zone. Not who traded them, or why.
What it is Three or more Dark trades at one exact price, drawn as a bar with a count.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Large Dark trades gathered at one price. Not who traded them, or why.
What it is A large off-exchange trade that keeps repeating at nearly the same dollar size.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't A repeating negotiated size. Not who is behind it, or what comes next.
What it is A trade before 9:30 a.m. or after 4:00 p.m. Eastern, on shaded time.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't When it traded. Fewer trades happen then, so one size can stand out more.
What it is A trade published late and out of order. Drawn with a dashed outline.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Its time is when it was reported, not necessarily when it happened.
What it is A trade priced outside that day's regular-hours high and low. Drawn as a ghost at its real price, with a dotted line back to the day's high or low, even when it is also a Sweep or an auction.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Usually how the trade was arranged, not where the market was.
What it is A trade type left out of the rankings. Shown faded.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't It happened, but it isn't compared for size, so it carries no rank.
What it is A trade later withdrawn from the record. Kept, crossed out.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't It was reported, then withdrawn. BigTape keeps it so nothing disappears quietly.
What it is A price zone where heavy Dark dollars built up since 2016. Ranks are all-time for this ticker, since 2016; ranks go to 100, and smaller levels show without a rank.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Where Dark trading happened. Not where price goes next.
What it is Price comes back to a ranked Dark Level.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Price returned to a zone of heavy past trading. Not that the zone will hold.
What it is Price moves clearly through a Dark Level ranked #1 to #20 on heavy volume.
What it tells you, and what it doesn't Price crossed the zone on heavy volume. Not that it will keep going.
BigTape shows facts about trades. It doesn't say who started a trade, why it happened or what happens next. It never tells you what to trade. Those decisions are yours.
Data, not advice.