According to ApexVol data as of 2026-07-17, the median IV rank across 1149 liquid optionable US stocks is 71.0 — up 4.0 points from 67.0 a week earlier. 51.1% of names sit above IV rank 70 while 16.1% sit below 30, and 58 names are at a 1-year IV high. VIX closed at 18.77 (+3.74 on the week). Technology is the hottest sector by median IV rank (90.0); Volatility is the quietest (34.0).
Data as of 2026-07-17Universe 1149 liquid namesVIX 18.77 +3.74Source ORATSCadence Weekly · Mon
71.0 +4.0
Median IV rank (WoW change)
51.1%
Names above IV rank 70
16.1%
Names below IV rank 30
58
Names at a 1-year IV high
Exhibit 01
Where the Market's IV Sits
Share of the 1149-name liquid universe in each IV-rank decile.
Right-heavy means most stocks are near the top of their own 1-year volatility range;
the blue bar holds the median name.
EX.01IV-rank distributionJul 17 – 23, 2026
5.7%
0–10
5.0%
10–20
5.4%
20–30
6.2%
30–40
6.8%
40–50
8.1%
50–60
10.9%
60–70
12.3%
70–80
13.5%
80–90
26.2%
90–100
Note — each bucket is a decile of 1-year IV percentile; labels show the share of the
liquid universe in that decile (58 names sit at exactly 100).
Source: ORATS, as of 2026-07-17.
Exhibit 02
Sector Volatility Ledger
Median IV rank and 30-day IV by sector, hottest first — classified names only.
EX.02Sector mediansJul 17 – 23, 2026
#
Sector
Median IV rank
Median 30d IV
Names
01
Technology
90.0
87.7%
203
02
C. Defensive
82.5
33.7%
46
03
Industrials
82.0
60.7%
100
04
Comm
81.0
50.3%
47
05
Real Estate
67.0
31.4%
19
06
C. Cyclical
66.0
50.4%
136
07
Energy
63.0
41.4%
66
08
Financials
59.0
36.6%
109
09
Utilities
58.0
26.3%
19
10
Healthcare
57.0
61.6%
129
11
Materials
53.0
56.9%
79
12
Volatility
34.0
61.1%
7
Note — sectors with fewer than 5 classified liquid names are omitted; ORATS leaves many
ETFs and small caps unsectored, so counts undershoot the full universe.
Source: ORATS, as of 2026-07-17.
Exhibit notes
Methodology
Source
ORATS institutional feed
Universe
1149 liquid optionable names
WoW baseline
2026-07-10 snapshot
Cadence
Mondays, pre-open
All single-stock statistics come from ORATS,
computed over the full US equity coverage filtered to liquid optionable names (share price above
$5, 20-day average options volume of at least 1,000 contracts, valid IV data). Each stock's
IV rank (1-year IV percentile) is measured against its
own 252-trading-day range, so the distribution reads breadth, not index level. Week-over-week
deltas compare against the ORATS historical snapshot for 2026-07-10; VIX context
comes from CBOE index data. Generated every Monday before the US open; the
monthly IV report is the month-scale companion with full tables.
AV
Written by
ApexVol Research Team
Quantitative options research
All calculations use live ORATS institutional data — the same source used by professional volatility desks.
RS
Technical reviewer
Ryan Silk, ApexVol Founder
Reviewed for technical accuracy
10+ years trading options. Built ApexVol's pricing engine, Greeks model, and IV-rank methodology.
This guide is updated as market conditions and ORATS data change. Last revised 2026-07-17.How we research →
Free to cite with attribution · page refreshes weekly — cite the week label for reproducibility
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
As of 2026-07-17, the median IV rank across 1149 liquid optionable US stocks is 71.0, with 51.1% of names above rank 70 and 16.1% below 30. 58 names are at a 1-year IV high. This report refreshes every Monday.
Each bar is the share of liquid US optionable stocks whose 1-year IV percentile falls in that decile. A right-heavy distribution means most of the market is trading near the top of its own 1-year volatility range (premium broadly expensive); a left-heavy one means premium is broadly cheap. The blue bar marks the decile containing the median name.
VIX measures S&P 500 index option pricing — one number for one underlying. This report measures single-stock implied volatility across the whole liquid US universe, each name relative to its own 1-year history. The two can diverge: single-stock IV can run hot during earnings season while index vol stays calm, and breadth (how many names are at extremes) is visible only at the single-stock level.