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BKNG

Booking Holdings Inc. Common StClose $156.95EOD only

Max Pain

$160.00

Next expiry May 22, 2026

Expected Move

±$4.83

3.1% from close

Price Gap

+3.05

Distance to max pain

IV Rank

Low premium

P/C OI

0.85

Slightly call-heavy

Consensus

6.5/10

Consensus signal

Published snapshot: May 20, 2026 close

End-of-day snapshot

This page reflects BKNG options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.

Published Snapshot

May 20, 2026 close

BKNG Flow Report

Analysis based on market close March 31, 2026

Directional Theta Gang Flow Earnings Consensus

Historical consensus-supported lens with full content, report chain context, and metric rail.

You are viewing an older report from March 31, 2026. A newer flow report is available for May 20, 2026.

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Flow Verdict

Confidence:

4 / 10

base 3; +0.5 for put premium dominance; +0.5 for GEX pinning regime; -0.5 for low volume/sample size; +0.5 for spot below max pain

Watch next session: Spot reaction near $4300 max pain level; Follow-through on the large $3840 Put block

Flow Summary

Net premium: -$35.2M bearish

P/C volume ratio: 0.92 — balanced but put premium dominant

P/C OI ratio: 0.68 — call-skewed positioning

Mixed flow with a clear bearish tilt in premium paid. While volume is balanced, institutions are paying significantly more for downside protection (puts) than for upside exposure (calls). The spot price sits below near-term max pain, suggesting gravitational pull toward $4300.

Notable Prints

BKNG 4/17 $3840 Put

Vol: 1,000

OI: 1,000

Vol/OI: 1.0x

IV: 41.8%

Notional: ~$6.3M

Intent: Fresh, large-scale protective put purchase.

Dual read: Bought to hedge a long equity position (bearish hedge) or as a directional short bet.

Read-through: This is the single largest premium outflow. Buying deep OTM puts (~9% below spot) is expensive insurance, indicating significant concern about a sharp move lower over the next 17 days.

BKNG 4/10 $3930 Put

Vol: 1,000

OI: 1,000

Vol/OI: 1.0x

IV: 41.8%

Notional: ~$4.8M

Intent: Fresh protective put or downside bet.

Dual read: Similar to the $3840P, likely a hedge. Closer expiration (10 days) suggests concern about an imminent move.

Read-through: Part of a pattern of large, OTM put buying across multiple expirations, building a layered hedge structure.

BKNG 6/18 $3300 Call

Vol: 1,000

OI: 1,000

Vol/OI: 1.0x

IV: 41.5%

Notional: ~$14.8M

Intent: Long-dated, deep OTM call purchase.

Dual read: Lottery ticket for a major rally by June, or a call spread leg (e.g., selling a higher strike against it).

Read-through: While the premium is large, the strike is ~22% OTM. This is likely a low-delta, high-conviction speculative bet on a significant upside breakout over 3 months, not a near-term directional signal.

BKNG 4/2 $4050 Put

Vol: 1,000

OI: 1,000

Vol/OI: 1.0x

IV: 44.9%

Notional: ~$6.0M

Intent: Near-dated protective put.

Dual read: Hedge against a drop before Friday's expiration.

Read-through: Completes the picture of urgent hedging: large puts bought in 2-day, 10-day, and 17-day expirations. This is defensive positioning.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Deep OTM, long-dated calls ($3300C Jun'26). Minimal near-term call buying.

Put additions: Layered OTM puts across multiple front-month expirations ($3840P 4/17, $3930P 4/10, $4050P 4/2).

GEX/DEX consistency: Yes — Positive but small GEX (+$0.4M) aligns with 'pinning' regime and spot below max pain, suggesting resistance to a large move.

OI clusters: Near-term: $4250 Call (1,509 OI) is a magnet/resistance. $4400 Put (433 OI) and $4300 Put (415 OI) provide support. Far-dated: Large OI in $5800-$6100 Calls are likely legacy positions.

Hedging evidence: Strong evidence. The three largest premium outflows are all OTM put purchases in April expirations, classic institutional hedging behavior.

Max pain context: Spot ($4210) is below the 3/27 max pain ($4300) and 4/2 MP ($4250), creating a mild upward pull. However, the heavy put buying suggests participants are hedging against a failure to reach those levels.

Signal vs Noise

~The massive $14.8M premium in the $3300 Jun'26 Call is a signal of long-term speculation, not near-term direction. It's a low-probability, high-reward bet.

~High OI in far OTM calls ($5800-$7900) is noise—likely old, inactive positions from previous rallies.

~The balanced P/C Volume Ratio (0.92) is misleading noise; the premium story (-$35.2M net) is the true signal of paid flow direction.

Key Conclusions

🛡️Institutions are paying up for downside protection, with layered put buys in April expirations driving net premium bearish.

🧲Spot is below near-term max pain ($4300), creating a mild upward magnet, but put flow suggests conviction that this level may hold as resistance.

🎯Watch $4300. A break above invalidates the defensive put flow; failure there confirms the hedge was prescient.

How to Use These Reports

This flow reflects the market close on March 31, 2026.

What the reports do

Each report translates the same market-close options snapshot into a specific lens such as directional bias, premium-selling posture, flow quality, or earnings setup.

How traders use them

Reports are most useful for narrowing the playbook, surfacing entry and risk context, and deciding which raw data page to inspect next.

What to remember

These are interpretation layers, not execution guarantees. Validate the setup against chain liquidity, expected move, and exposure before sizing risk.

If the report conviction and the raw data disagree, slow down and resolve the mismatch before sizing risk.