This page reflects ARES options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
May 20, 2026 close
Max Pain — ARES
Data as of market close May 20, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-05-22 shows max pain at $122.00 (0.11 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$122.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$3.83
±3.1%
Days to Expiry
2
Calendar days
Total Call OI
650
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
990
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
1.52
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$122.11
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-05-22
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-05-08
$117.00
5/8/2026, 11:03:00 PM
2026-05-15
$115.00
5/15/2026, 11:03:01 PM
2026-05-22NextUpdated
$122.00
5/20/2026, 11:04:35 PM
2026-05-29
$121.00
5/20/2026, 11:04:35 PM
2026-06-05
$119.00
5/20/2026, 11:04:35 PM
2026-06-12
$124.00
5/20/2026, 11:04:35 PM
2026-06-18
$140.00
5/20/2026, 11:04:35 PM
2026-06-26
$128.00
5/20/2026, 11:04:35 PM
2026-07-17
$120.00
5/20/2026, 11:04:35 PM
2026-08-21
$125.00
5/20/2026, 11:04:35 PM
2026-09-18
$130.00
5/20/2026, 11:04:35 PM
2026-11-20
$125.00
5/20/2026, 11:04:35 PM
2026-12-18
$150.00
5/20/2026, 11:04:35 PM
2027-01-15
$140.00
5/20/2026, 11:04:35 PM
2027-02-19
$95.00
5/20/2026, 11:04:35 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-05-22 at max pain $122.00.
ARES pain by strike for 2026-05-22 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
55
0
5171600
5171600
75
0
3193600
3193600
80
0
2705100
2705100
90
0
1947100
1947100
91
0
1872000
1872000
94
0
1647300
1647300
95
0
1572500
1572500
97
200
1423100
1423300
98
300
1348600
1348900
99
400
1274100
1274500
100
500
1200200
1200700
101
600
1126700
1127300
102
700
1053400
1054100
103
800
981100
981900
104
900
909100
910000
105
1000
838100
839100
106
1200
767900
769100
107
1400
698000
699400
108
1600
630700
632300
109
1900
565100
567000
How to Read Max Pain
Compare pin-risk and strike-pressure across expirations from the latest published close.
What max pain measures
Max pain is the strike where option holders would collectively lose the most at expiration, based on open interest across the listed chain.
How traders use it
It is most useful as a possible pinning zone, especially when spot is already trading near a crowded strike into expiration.
What can break it
Strong directional flows, news, or fast spot moves can overwhelm any pinning tendency, so max pain should support a thesis rather than drive it alone.
The closer you are to expiration, the more useful this becomes as context and the less useful it is as a standalone prediction.