AMZN Flow Report

Analysis based on market close April 2, 2026

Flow Verdict

Confidence:

6 / 10

base 5; +1.5 massive bearish premium at $245; +0.5 spot above MP but heavy put flow defending it; -1.0 P/C volume ratio neutral

Watch next session: $245 Put premium flow for continuation; Defensive call buying at $207.5-$210; Flow into April $202.50 puts

Flow Summary

Net premium: -$15.6M bearish

P/C volume ratio: 0.96 — neutral volume

P/C OI ratio: 0.59 — strong call lean in positioning

A clear divergence: while open interest shows a strong call bias, today's premium flow is decisively bearish, driven by massive, expensive put buying at elevated strikes ($245). The spot is above max pain, but heavy put flow at and below $210 suggests institutions are defending the downside, overriding the bullish positioning skew.

Notable Prints

AMZN 260402P00207500 PUT $207.50 exp 2026-04-02

Vol: 40,770

OI: 4,290

Vol/OI: 9.5x

IV: 10.5%

Notional: ~$846.0M (40,770 * $207.50 * 100)

Intent: Expiration-driven pinning or closing trade

Dual read: Selling puts to pin spot above $207.5 at expiry, or buying for immediate delta hedge.

Read-through: Enormous volume with very low IV (10.5% vs ATM ~37%) on a same-day expiry. This is almost certainly a market maker or institutional roll/closing trade related to the pin at $207.50 max pain for 3/25 & 3/27. It's a pinning signal, not a fresh directional bet.

AMZN 260402P00205000 PUT $205.00 exp 2026-04-02

Vol: 40,716

OI: 6,315

Vol/OI: 6.5x

IV: 19.9%

Notional: ~$834.7M (40,716 * $205.00 * 100)

Intent: At-the-money protection or max pain pinning play

Dual read: Buying/selling ATM puts for immediate hedge or to influence spot toward the key $205 max pain level at close.

Read-through: Another massive same-day expiry print at the primary max pain strike ($205). Combined with the $207.50P flow, this confirms intense gamma pinning activity into the close, with institutions heavily active around the $205-$207.50 zone.

AMZN 260410C00217500 CALL $217.50 exp 2026-04-10

Vol: 15,933

OI: 2,609

Vol/OI: 6.1x

IV: 25.3%

Notional: ~$346.5M (15,933 * $217.50 * 100)

Intent: Upside speculation or call spread leg

Dual read: Buying calls ~3.7% OTM, 8 days out, or selling as part of a covered call/ratio spread.

Read-through: Significant call flow with IV (25.3%) below the term structure (~29.1% for 4/10), suggesting it's likely a buyer. This is a meaningful bullish counter-signal to the dominant put premium, targeting a move to ~$217.50 within the week.

AMZN 260406P00187500 PUT $187.50 exp 2026-04-06

Vol: 2,612

OI: 119

Vol/OI: 21.9x

IV: 42.4%

Notional: ~$49.0M (2,612 * $187.50 * 100)

Intent: Fresh, aggressive bearish bet or tail-risk hedge

Dual read: Buying puts ~10.6% OTM, 4 days out, at elevated IV. This is a high-conviction directional wager or protection against a sharp drop.

Read-through: High Vol/OI and elevated IV confirm new, urgent positioning. This strike is below the nearest max pain ($205), indicating a trader is betting on or hedging against a break of the pinning range.

AMZN 260406P00205000 PUT $205.00 exp 2026-04-06

Vol: 8,756

OI: 813

Vol/OI: 10.8x

IV: 23.2%

Notional: ~$179.5M (8,756 * $205.00 * 100)

Intent: Forward protection at max pain

Dual read: Buying puts to hedge against a drop to $205 after the immediate expiry pin is resolved.

Read-through: Large volume extending the $205 max pain defense into next week. IV is in line with ATM, making direction ambiguous, but the size suggests institutional interest in maintaining downside exposure at this key level.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Meaningful call buying at $217.50 (4/10) and $210.00 (4/8). Top premium flow also shows bullish net at $210, $207.50, and $180.

Put additions: Overwhelmingly dominant at elevated strikes: $245P (-$38.1M net premium), $240P (-$6.0M), $175P (-$5.4M). This is the core bearish signal—institutions are paying up for expensive, far OTM protection.

GEX/DEX consistency: Yes — aligned. Large positive GEX (+$354.0M) indicates strong mean-reverting/pinning forces, which matches the massive same-day expiry put flow at $205-$207.50 and spot hovering above max pain.

OI clusters: Major call walls remain far OTM at $275C (204k OI), $300C (139k OI), $250C (122k OI). Near-term, max pain creates a dense cluster at $205 across multiple expirations (3/23-4/06), acting as a strong magnet. A secondary cluster forms at $207.50.

Hedging evidence: Extremely strong. The multi-million dollar put premium at strikes $245 and $240, combined with new OTM put buying ($187.50P), shows continued systematic protective buying. This is not speculative put selling.

Max pain context: Spot ($209.77) is 2.3% above the immediate max pain cluster ($205). The forward max pain trend rises to $245 by 2027, but the next dense cluster is at $202.50-$205 across 3/30-4/10, providing a clear downside target if the pin breaks.

Signal vs Noise

~Massive same-day expiry put flow at $205P and $207.50P (40k+ volume each): This is expiration-driven pinning/closing activity, not fresh directional bearish bets. The extremely low IV confirms it.

~Deep OTM Calls ($105C, $120C) with multi-million net premium: Almost certainly part of dividend arbitrage, box spreads, or other financing trades, not directional bullish bets.

~Top OI Strikes ($275C, $300C): These massive, far OTM call walls are likely legacy LEAPS positions, not reflective of current sentiment. They act as negligible near-term gamma magnets.

Key Conclusions

⚠️Net premium is decisively bearish (-$15.6M), now almost double the prior report's level, driven by massive, expensive put buying at $245, overriding the call-dominant OI.

🎯Spot is above max pain ($209.77 vs $205) but under heavy defensive put flow. The $205-$207.50 zone is ground zero for gamma pinning, with enormous same-day expiry activity.

🛡️Institutional hedging remains aggressive and expensive (high premium puts at $245, $240). This signals sustained concern about a sharp downside move, not just a mild pullback.

📈A meaningful bullish counter-signal exists: significant call buying at $217.50 (4/10) targeting a move higher if the pin breaks to the upside.

Read the Flow analysis for AMZN. This AI-generated report covers regime classification, key price levels, strategy recommendations, and actionable trade ideas drawn from end-of-day options data including gamma exposure, delta exposure, and implied volatility.