Daily ratio of equity put options purchased to equity call options purchased (CBOE). Excludes index options for a cleaner crowd-sentiment read. Readings above 0.9 signal elevated fear; below 0.55 signal complacency. Used as a contrarian indicator: extreme put-buying historically precedes short-term market recoveries.
Option buyers are predominantly retail investors who tend to hedge at market bottoms. Elevated put/call reflects panic hedging, not informed directional conviction. When put buying exhausts itself, the directional move typically reverses.
| Factor family | Volatility & Positioning |
| Relative weight | Supporting |
| Update cadence | Daily |
| Modeled lead | ~2 weeks (a modeling assumption, not a validated finding) |
| Data source | FRED |
The lead time above is a design assumption, not an out-of-sample-validated relationship for a specific security or index. This is one Volatility & Positioning input among 47; it measures macro context, not a full investment thesis.
Unstructured Alpha weighs CBOE Equity Put/Call Ratio alongside 46 other macro signals to build a Confluence Score for each stock. See how this signal is currently shaping the macro backdrop for the tickers you follow.
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Scores are derived from macro signals (FRED, EIA, SEC filings, FINRA short interest)
and updated as new data arrives. This is not financial advice. Past signal accuracy
does not guarantee future results.
unstructuredalpha.com · Not financial advice