What is the sentiment and trading volume around the release, and are there any unusual options activity? | HCKT (Aug 06, 2025) | Candlesense

What is the sentiment and trading volume around the release, and are there any unusual options activity?

Answer Overview

The press‑release you quoted tells us that Hack & Co. (NASDAQ: HCKT) announced Q2 2025 results that “were above the mid‑range of its revenue and adjusted‑EPS guidance.” That language is generally positive (i.e., “beat‑or‑meet” guidance) and, in most cases, translates into a bullish‑leaning sentiment among investors at the moment of the release.

However, the release itself does not contain any market‑data details—such as the actual price reaction, trading‑volume numbers, or options‑trade statistics. To answer the three parts of your question—sentiment, trading volume, and unusual options activity—you will need to pull real‑time market information from a data source (e.g., a brokerage platform, Bloomberg, Reuters, or a free service such as Yahoo Finance or MarketWatch). Below is a step‑by‑step guide on how to obtain and interpret those metrics, together with a brief “what you might expect” based on the content of the release.


1. Sentiment Around the Release

How to Measure It

Method What to Look For Typical Tools
Price reaction Compare the opening price (or pre‑release price) to the price after the news (e.g., 5‑min, 15‑min, 1‑hour, and end‑of‑day). A rise → bullish, a fall → bearish. Real‑time charting platforms (Thinkorswim, TradingView, Bloomberg).
Social‑media / news‑feed sentiment Scan Twitter, StockTwits, Reddit (r/investing, r/stocks) for keywords “Hackett Group”, “HCKT”, “beat”, “miss”. Sentiment‑analysis APIs (e.g., Bloomberg Sentiment, Refinitiv) can give a numeric score. Sentiment‑analysis tools, Google Trends, MarketWatch “Live Market Talk”.
Analyst commentary Look for any upgrades/downgrades or “Buy/Hold/Sell” changes issued within a few hours of the release. FactSet, Thomson Reuters IHS, Bloomberg Terminal.

What the Release Suggests

  • Positive language (“operating results that were above
”) → likely up‑beat sentiment.
  • No mention of a miss or surprise → the market typically reacts favorably unless the “mid‑range” guidance was already low expectations.

Bottom‑line: Expect a bullish tilt in sentiment, but you still need to confirm with the actual price move and social‑media chatter.


2. Trading Volume Around the Release

How to Retrieve the Data

  1. Intraday volume bars – Pull the 1‑minute or 5‑minute volume series for the day of the release (2025‑08‑05).
  2. Compare to “average daily volume” (ADV) – Most platforms display a 30‑day average volume; compute the ratio:

[
\text{Volume Spike Ratio} = \frac{\text{Volume on release day}}{\text{30‑day ADV}}
]

  1. Look for “high‑volume” flags – Bloomberg/Reuters often highlight a “high‑volume” day automatically.

What to Expect

  • Earnings beats often generate a moderate‑to‑high volume spike (1.5×–3× ADV) as traders and algorithms trade on the news.
  • If the guidance range was already well‑known and the beat was modest, the spike may be smaller (≈1.2×–1.5× ADV).

Bottom‑line: Check the 2025‑08‑05 volume bar; a ratio > 1.5 would be considered a noticeable increase, confirming active market participation.


3. Unusual Options Activity

What to Look For

Metric How to Compute Typical “unusual” thresholds
Options volume vs. open‑interest Volume / OpenInterest. A ratio > 0.5 on the same day is often flagged as “high activity”. > 0.5 (or > 50 % of OI)
Large trades (block trades) Identify single‑trade sizes > 10 k contracts or > 5 % of daily volume. Any single trade > 5 % of daily volume is “large”.
Implied‑volatility (IV) moves Compare IV at the time of the release to the 30‑day IV average. A jump > 10 % can indicate a “volatility shock”. IV change > 10 %
Put/Call ratio Total puts / total calls. A sudden swing (e.g., from 0.8 to > 1.2) suggests a shift in directional bias. Ratio > 1.0 (more puts) after a beat may still be “neutral” if the market expects a pull‑back.

How to Pull the Data

  • Option‑chain screen on a brokerage or data terminal for the expiration dates nearest to Aug 5 2025 (e.g., Aug 2025, Sep 2025).
  • Filter for the most‑active strikes (usually at‑the‑money or 5‑10 % out‑of‑the‑money).
  • Sort by “Volume” and “Change from prior day”.
  • Check “Unusual Options Activity” alerts (many platforms have a built‑in alert that flags spikes automatically).

Anticipated Patterns (Based on the Release)

  • Calls may dominate if investors are bullish after the beat.
  • Higher‑strike call buying (e.g., 10‑15 % OTM) is common when traders expect the stock to rally further.
  • If the beat was modest, you might see a balanced mix of calls and puts, with a slight tilt toward calls.
  • Implied‑volatility often compresses after an earnings beat (IV drops) because the “event risk” is resolved; however, a sharp price move can temporarily inflate IV on the next‑day expiration.

Bottom‑line: Run the “high‑volume” and “large‑trade” filters for HCKT options on 2025‑08‑05. Any contract‑size trade > 5 % of daily volume, a volume/OI ratio > 0.5, or a > 10 % IV jump would qualify as “unusual”.


4. Putting It All Together – A Sample Checklist

Item How to Verify What to Note
Sentiment Price change (intraday), social‑media sentiment, analyst upgrades/downgrades. Look for a positive price move and up‑beat chatter.
Trading Volume Daily volume vs. 30‑day ADV; volume‑spike ratio. Ratio > 1.5 = clear volume spike.
Options Activity Volume/OI, large‑trade size, IV change, put/call ratio. Flag any high‑volume call skew, large block trades, or IV compression/expansion.

5. Recommended Data Sources (Free & Paid)

Source What It Gives You Typical Access
Yahoo Finance / MarketWatch End‑of‑day price, daily volume, basic options chain (top‑10 strikes). Free web.
NASDAQ Trader (Level‑2) Real‑time trade and quote (TAQ) data, volume histograms. Free with registration.
Barchart.com – “Options Activity” Real‑time options volume, large‑trade alerts. Free tier (limited).
Bloomberg Terminal Full‑featured sentiment, volume spikes, “Unusual Options Activity” alerts, analyst notes. Paid (institutional).
Thinkorswim (TD Ameritrade) Intraday charts, options chain, “Trade‑The‑News” alerts. Free with a brokerage account.

6. Quick “What‑If” Example (Illustrative Only)

Metric Hypothetical Value Interpretation
Price change (first 30 min) +3.2 % Strong bullish reaction.
Volume spike ratio 2.1× ADV Significantly higher than usual—active trading.
Options volume/OI (ATM call) 0.62 Elevated call activity, likely “unusual”.
Largest single options trade 12,000 contracts (call) Block trade, > 5 % of daily volume – notable.
IV change (next‑day exp.) –12 % Volatility compression after earnings resolved.
Put/Call ratio 0.78 (calls > puts) Net bullish bias.

Again, the numbers above are *illustrative** only. You will need to pull the actual data for HCKT on 2025‑08‑05 to confirm.*


Final Takeaway

  • Sentiment: The language of the release points to a positive (bullish) sentiment. Verify with price action and social‑media chatter.
  • Trading volume: Expect a moderate‑to‑high volume spike; confirm by comparing the day’s volume to the 30‑day average.
  • Unusual options activity: Look for elevated call volume, large‑trade blocks, and IV compression. Any of the thresholds listed (volume/OI > 0.5, large trade > 5 % of daily volume, IV move > 10 %) would flag “unusual” activity.

Next steps: Pull the real‑time market data for HCKT on 2025‑08‑05 using one of the platforms above, run the checks outlined, and you’ll have a concrete answer to the three parts of your question.