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BKNG

Booking Holdings Inc. Common StClose $163.30EOD only

Max Pain

$157.50

Next expiry May 29, 2026

Expected Move

±$6.05

3.7% from close

Price Gap

-5.80

Distance to max pain

IV Rank

Low premium

P/C OI

0.84

Slightly call-heavy

Consensus

5.5/10

Range bias

Published snapshot: May 26, 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 26, 2026 close

BKNG Flow Report

Analysis based on market close April 13, 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 13, 2026. A newer flow report is available for May 26, 2026.

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Flow Verdict

Confidence:

5.5 / 10

base 5.5 (precomputed); +1 pinning/GEX positive; -1 mixed net premium vs call OI; +0.5 VIX 19.1

Watch next session: Short-dated call volume and OI change at $180 (noted 5,640 OI, recent Vol=653); Put volume / delta at $170–$176 (172/176 put clusters) — any roll-to-puts buildup

Flow Summary

Net premium: -$49.8M bearish (net premium sold)

P/C volume ratio: 0.99 — essentially neutral on the day (balanced put/call trading)

P/C OI ratio: 0.73 — OI-weighted moderate call lean (more call OI stacked vs puts)

Flow is mixed: headline net premium is negative (-$49.8M) suggesting premium selling / put activity, but OI structure and positive GEX (+$20.1M) indicate dealer pinning pressure around the mid-$170s (gamma flip/MP ~ $176). Short-dated call activity (notably $180 calls with heavy volume) and large call OI walls further out ($188-$244) create asymmetric resistance above; near-term put OI clusters and max pain at $173/$176 create support below. Overall, institutional positioning looks hedged and pin-focused rather than a clean directional trade.

Notable Prints

BKNG 2026-04-17 $185.00 Call

Vol: 570

OI: 229

Vol/OI: 2.5x

IV: 37.6%

Notional: ~$30,780

Intent: Fresh short-dated directional call buying or dealer layoff of risk into pop ahead of short-dated expiries

Dual read: Aggressive buyer (bullish) or seller/overwriter (neutral) depending on block structure

Read-through: Significant short-dated call flow 4% OTM — supports dealer gamma hedging above spot and reinforces the pin around the mid-$170s if dealers are short gamma; if this is buyer-initiated it signals willingness to push into $180 region before next expiry.

BKNG 2026-05-15 $154.20 Put

Vol: 314

OI: 149

Vol/OI: 2.1x

IV: 52.9%

Notional: ~$76,930

Intent: Long-dated protective put purchase (portfolio hedge) or speculative downside hedge

Dual read: Bought (protective/hedge) or sold (structured income) — premium and IV suggest buyers paying for protection

Read-through: Longer-dated put demand ~13% OTM indicates selective institutional protection into May; this is more hedging-oriented than levered directional flow given strike distance and IV profile.

BKNG 2027-03-19 $128.00 Put

Vol: 204

OI: 102

Vol/OI: 2.0x

IV: 45.0%

Notional: ~$160,752

Intent: Long-term downside protection or part of a structured collar/LLP trade

Dual read: Protective long-dated put (bearish/insurance) or sold as roll component of a long-dated structured product (income)

Read-through: Material notional for long-dated insurance; suggests some participants are buying multi-month tail protection even while near-term flows are mixed.

BKNG 2026-05-01 $188.00 Call

Vol: 250

OI: 125

Vol/OI: 2.0x

IV: 54.7%

Notional: ~$109,500

Intent: Directional call buying ahead of May expiry or roll from nearer-dated calls (buying out the curve)

Dual read: Long call aggressive (bullish) or opening of call spread leg (neutral) — IV elevated so could be hedge of stock exposure

Read-through: Reinforces upside interest in the $184–$188 zone; paired with large call OI clusters at $180–$188, this suggests participants positioning for upside scenarios while still keeping protection.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Noticeable short-dated call flow into $180 (5,640 OI, Vol=653) and prints at $185 (4/17) and $188 (5/01). Large longer-dated call OI walls sit at $236 (10,200 OI) and $244 (9,976 OI) — institutions have concentrated upside exposure at multiple tenors.

Put additions: Put demand concentrated at $172 and $176 (10,376 & 10,826 OI across expiries) plus targeted longer-dated hedges ($154.20 May, $128 Mar-27). Net premium negative (-$49.8M) and selective put buying suggest protective flows are present.

GEX/DEX consistency: Yes — positive Total GEX $20.1M and large GEX concentration at $180 (+$4.9M) align with dealer pinning and a magnet near $176-$180 despite mixed premium flow.

OI clusters: Largest OI pockets: $170 CALL OI=37,764 (deep ITM call block), $236/$244 call walls (10k each), $180 call cluster (5,640 OI). Put clusters concentrated around $160–$176 (notably 172 & 176). These clusters create a support band in the low-to-mid $170s and resistance around $180–$188 and a more distant call wall above $236.

Hedging evidence: Clear evidence of protective hedges: short-dated call buying (gamma-driven dealer hedging) + long-dated puts ($154.20 May, $128 Mar-27) point to mixed positioning with both upside participation and downside insurance. Limited evidence of full collars but signs of collars/structured hedges exist (calls paired with longer-dated puts).

Max pain context: Max pain is near-term $173 (4/17) → $176 (4/24) → $180 (5/01). With spot $177.25 above early MP but gamma flip ~$176, dealers are incented to pin ~176–180; OI and GEX concentrations support that path.

Signal vs Noise

~Large legacy call OI at $170 (OI=37,764) likely reflects older structured positions or employee / institutional grants — not fresh directional flow.

~Short-dated expirations through 4/17 and 4/24 will create expiration-driven hedging and rolls; some short-dated call prints (e.g., $185 4/17) may be dealer rebalances rather than pure directional bets.

~Long-dated put prints (2027-03 $128) are likely insurance/structured positions — they don’t imply near-term bearish conviction.

~Elevated IV term structure and upcoming earnings (4/28) mean some activity is earnings-hedge related rather than pure directional positioning.

Key Conclusions

🔁Flow is mixed: net premium is negative (-$49.8M) while OI and GEX point to dealer pinning around $176–$180.

🛡️Institutions are buying selective downside protection (May and long-dated puts) while maintaining upside exposure via call clusters at $180–$188.

📌Key pin/gamma zone ~ $176 (gamma flip) — expect price to gravitate toward the $173–$180 MP band over the short term.

🚨Watch short-dated call volume at $180 and any accelerating put flow into $170–$176 — those moves will confirm downside hedging versus bullish call accumulation.

🐻/🐂Notable short-dated call prints (4/17 $185) and mid-term put buys ($154.20 May) create an asymmetric position set: participants are simultaneously positioning for upside while buying insurance — expect choppy price action inside the expected move $170.40–$184.10.

How to Use These Reports

This flow reflects the market close on April 13, 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.