This page reflects AZ 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 — AZ
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $6.00 (1.27 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$6.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.60
±8.3%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
13,577
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
3,365
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.25
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$7.27
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
2026-06-18
$6.00
6/18/2026, 11:05:57 PM
2026-07-17
$6.00
7/17/2026, 11:05:36 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$6.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:48 PM
2026-09-18
$8.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:48 PM
2026-11-20
$10.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:48 PM
2026-12-18
$10.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:48 PM
2027-02-19
$4.00
8/18/2026, 11:05:48 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $6.00.
AZ pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
1
0
2095300
2095300
2
200
1749800
1750000
4
600
1059000
1059600
5
800
713700
714500
6
1100
370400
371500
7
217900
176900
394800
8
781300
105200
886500
9
1597000
66700
1663700
10
2928100
28200
2956300
11
4316400
3900
4320300
12
5704800
0
5704800
13
7093500
0
7093500
14
8482200
0
8482200
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.