This page reflects ARES options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 18, 2026 close
Max Pain — ARES
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $125.00 (15.31 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$125.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$4.90
±3.5%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
17,189
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
3,861
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.22
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$140.31
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-08-21
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-08-07
$127.00
8/7/2026, 11:04:08 PM
2026-08-14
$131.00
8/14/2026, 11:02:30 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$125.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:13 PM
2026-08-28
$130.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:13 PM
2026-09-04
$143.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:13 PM
2026-09-11
$140.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:13 PM
2026-09-18
$130.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:13 PM
2026-09-25
$135.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:13 PM
2026-10-02
$149.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:13 PM
2026-11-20
$120.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:13 PM
2026-12-18
$135.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:13 PM
2027-01-15
$140.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:13 PM
2027-02-19
$110.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:13 PM
2027-03-19
$140.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:13 PM
2027-06-17
$155.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:13 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $125.00.
ARES pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
55
0
23369400
23369400
60
0
21439400
21439400
65
0
19511400
19511400
70
0
17583400
17583400
75
0
15655400
15655400
80
0
13750900
13750900
85
1000
11856900
11857900
90
2000
9994900
9996900
95
3000
8289400
8292400
100
37500
6671400
6708900
105
81500
5164400
5245900
110
141500
3725900
3867400
111
156300
3460300
3616600
112
171100
3195000
3366100
113
198000
2930100
3128100
114
224900
2665800
2890700
115
251800
2401700
2653500
116
281500
2235500
2517000
117
311200
2070900
2382100
118
340900
1907400
2248300
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.