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IV Rank measures where current implied volatility stands relative to its range over the past year, expressed as a 0–100 scale based on its 52-week high-low range. An IV Rank of 75 means current IV is near the high end of its 52-week range, suggesting options are relatively expensive — conditions that often favor premium selling strategies.
IV Rank compares today's implied volatility to the highest and lowest IV readings over the trailing 252 trading days (one year). It answers the question: is IV high or low relative to its own recent history?
IV Rank = (Current IV − 52-Week Low IV) / (52-Week High IV − 52-Week Low IV) × 100Example: If AAPL 30-day IV is 28%, 52-week low was 18%, high was 42%:
IV Rank = (28 − 18) / (42 − 18) × 100 = 41.7%This means AAPL's current IV is at approximately the 42nd point of its annual range — moderate.
VolRadar implementation: Uses ORATS IV 30-day as the current IV input. 52-week high and low are computed from 252 trading days of IV 30d history.
Options are cheap relative to recent history. Premium collected from selling is typically small.
Below-average zone. Premium selling is possible but edge from IV expansion is limited.
Mid-range. IV is near the middle of its annual range — neither cheap nor expensive.
Premium selling conditions improving. Options are priced above their midpoint for the year.
Historically favorable for selling premium. Options are expensive. Often coincides with fear or uncertainty events. Can exceed 100 if IV surpasses the 52-week high.
Premium sellers profit when options are overpriced — when the premium collected exceeds the actual movement of the underlying stock. IV Rank helps identify when that premium is elevated relative to the stock's own volatility history. Selling premium at IV Rank 80 means you're selling at a historically rich level for that specific stock, regardless of what the absolute IV number is.
Many premium sellers look for IV Rank above 50, meaning current IV is in the upper half of its 52-week range. IV Rank above 70 is often considered elevated — options are relatively expensive. However, IV Rank should be combined with VRP and trend analysis, not used in isolation.
IV Rank measures where current IV falls within its high-low range (min/max based). IV Percentile measures what percentage of days had IV lower than today. VolRadar uses IV Rank as the primary metric because it responds faster to regime changes.
IV Rank is computed daily using end-of-day data from ORATS. Data refreshes after U.S. market close, typically by ~6:00 PM ET.
Yes. If current IV exceeds the previous 52-week high, IV Rank will be above 100. This means volatility is at a new annual extreme.