Relative Volume Spike

What this spike is

Relative Volume Spike is when current trading volume runs at multiples of its usual level for the same time of day. A ticker that normally trades 2 million shares by noon and has printed 10 million is at 5 times its usual pace (RVOL 5×). The ratio to normal is what matters, not the raw number.

Why it is the first alarm

Volume tips its hand early. Before news is fully in the price, insiders and algorithms have already moved, and relative volume catches that move in its first minutes. Most of a ticker's big days began with a volume anomaly that came before the price anomaly.

How to read it correctly

Compare it with the same time of day (the open is naturally heavy every day, so the measure is calibrated by the hour), with the direction of the accompanying candles (rising volume with strong closes is not the same as bleeding volume), and with whether a known catalyst exists. No catalyst should make you more curious, not less.

Hypothetical example

First hour: a quiet ticker runs at RVOL 7× with a string of green candles and no news out. That is a textbook radar catch. Either news is leaking ahead of the release, or someone is accumulating heavily and cannot hide. Both are worth a closer look.

Common mistake

Chasing the spike after it has matured: someone who buys at RVOL 12× after the price is already up 15% is often buying the peak of the noise. The spike is a reason to start researching right away. Entry is a matter of setup and price, not excitement.

When it is genuine

When it comes with a clear price trend: a volume spike with directional movement is real participation. With price stuck in place, it is quiet accumulation or distribution. Volume alone does not give a direction. It only says something is going on.

Where to see it on the platform

The Trade Scanner catches relative-volume jumps as they happen, and the market scanners show RVOL as a sortable column.

The scanner shows relative volume next to the price change in the same row.