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BKNG

Booking Holdings Inc. Common StClose $161.06EOD only

Max Pain

$160.00

Next expiry May 29, 2026

Expected Move

±$7.22

4.5% from close

Price Gap

-1.06

Distance to max pain

IV Rank

Low premium

P/C OI

0.82

Slightly call-heavy

Consensus

6.0/10

Bullish tilt

Published snapshot: May 22, 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 22, 2026 close

BKNG Flow Report

Analysis based on market close April 9, 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 April 9, 2026. A newer flow report is available for May 22, 2026.

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Flow Verdict

Confidence:

5 / 10

base 4.5; +1 GEX positive pinning; -1 net premium -$48.0M (bearish); -0.0 mixed flow

Watch next session: Fresh put/call premium at $170-$174 (puts) or $180 (calls); Large prints around the gamma flip ~$176 — rejection or sustained trade through

Flow Summary

Net premium: -$48.0M bearish

P/C volume ratio: 0.93 — near neutral (slight call tilt historically is <1, here balanced)

P/C OI ratio: 0.70 — moderate call OI skew (calls more concentrated vs puts)

Flow is mixed but leans toward downside risk: large net negative premium (-$48.0M) indicates institutional premium paid into puts or sellers receiving puts, while dealer positioning (GEX +$24.5M) creates pinning pressure around current levels. Top OI clusters on calls (notably $236/$244) point to structural long-call interest farther out, while near-term put concentration (notably $176, $172 put OI) and negative net premium keep a bearish slant in the near term.

Notable Prints

BKNG260618C00190000 2026-06-18 $190 Call

Vol: 704

OI: 301

Vol/OI: 2.3x

IV: 44.1%

Notional: ~$478,016

Intent: Directional call purchase (spec), longer-dated upside exposure

Dual read: Aggressive call-buyer (bullish) OR option seller overwriting distant stock exposure (neutral to mildly bearish)

Read-through: Meaningful notional (~$0.48M) for a single print in a mid-term expiration — suggests selective bullish exposure or structured repositioning into summer; because OI is modest (301) the print is important but not a large institutional wall by itself.

BKNG260717P00204000 2026-07-17 $204 Put

Vol: 250

OI: 150

Vol/OI: 1.7x

IV: 38.4%

Notional: ~$810,000

Intent: Protective put or directional put buy (tail hedge) given ITM status (strike $204 > spot $176.60)

Dual read: Bought puts (bearish/hedge) OR closed/rolled long-call position being hedged (neutral)

Read-through: Large per-contract notional (~$0.81M) and ITM nature point to genuine hedging or insurance by an institution for exposure (possibly corporate or concentrated holder). This is meaningful and signals concern for downside across medium-term calendar.

BKNG260410C00200000 2026-04-10 $200 Call

Vol: 278

OI: 172

Vol/OI: 1.6x

IV: 98.4%

Notional: ~$1,390

Intent: Very short-dated speculative or volatility-driven trade (likely small directional or gamma play into very near-term move)

Dual read: Small buyer of calls (very short-term bullish) OR rapid market-maker adjustment in high-IV 1d chain

Read-through: Notional is negligible (~$1.4k) despite high vol/OI ratio; treat as noise relative to other medium/long-dated prints.

BKNG $232 Call (Top OI strike)

Vol: 152

OI: 8,375

Vol/OI: 0.0x

Notional: ~unknown (premium not provided)

Intent: Structural long-call interest (multi-expiration OI cluster) — likely institutional longer-term bullish positioning or equity replacement

Dual read: Long-call speculation (bullish) OR part of spreads (covered call financing) reducing directional read

Read-through: High OI (8,375) at $232 is a material structural call cluster well above spot and forms a long-term call wall; not actionable for near-term gamma pinning but important for medium-term upside anchors.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: $232-$244 long-term calls (large OI clusters) and isolated mid-term upticks at $190 (6/18) indicating selective upside exposure

Put additions: Medium-term put activity (notably $204 7/17 ITM print) and concentrated near-term put OI at $176/$172, indicating protective demand around current levels

GEX/DEX consistency: Yes — GEX +$24.5M and DEX +20,897K shares support dealer pinning around current price (gamma flip ~$176) even while net premium is negative; that produces price pin with downside skew

OI clusters: $170 CALL OI 37,764 (large historic cluster), $236 CALL OI 10,200 and $244 CALL OI 9,976 (structural upside), puts concentrated at $176 (10,826) and $172 (10,375) near spot — creating competing magnets near $170-$176 and structural upside interest above $232

Hedging evidence: Evidence of protective hedging: ITM/long-dated $204 put print looks like explicit insurance. Near-term put OI at $176 and $172 also supports institutional hedging pressure. Minimal evidence of broad collar structures in visible prints.

Max pain context: Max pain schedule is rising with near-term pins at $170 (4/10) → $173 (4/17) → $176 (4/24). Spot currently above MP but within a few dollars; dealer GEX/DEX make pinning likely toward those MP levels.

Signal vs Noise

~Top premium flow lines showing extremely large notionals at strikes like $3,300–$4,100 appear disconnected from BKNG underlying (likely data mapping or bucketed premium across symbols) — treat as noise for BKNG directional read.

~Very small notional short-dated trades (e.g., 4/10 $200C notional ~$1.4k) are likely gamma/speculation or market-maker adjustments, not institutional directional commitments.

~High OI long-dated calls ($236/$244) may be part of long-dated equity-replacement strategies or covered-call structures rather than pure directional bullish bets; treat single-volume activity against those strikes cautiously.

Key Conclusions

📌Gamma/pinning is active — dealers long gamma (GEX +$24.5M) with gamma flip near ~$176 which is the short-term price magnet.

⚖️Flow is mixed but skewed bearish in premium terms: net premium -$48.0M while P/C vol ~0.93 and P/C OI 0.70 — institutions are paying for downside protection even as call OI clusters exist farther out.

🛡️Meaningful hedging seen: 7/17 $204 puts (ITM) indicate institutional insurance/concern; near-term put OI at $176/$172 supports downside protection concentrated around spot.

🏔️Structural call wall far out ($232-$244 OI clusters) suggests medium-term upside interest but does not remove near-term pin/magnet forces between $170–$176.

👀Watch for continued negative net premium and additional put prints at 170–176; that would confirm downside bias despite dealer pinning.

How to Use These Reports

This flow reflects the market close on April 9, 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.

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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.