thetaOwl

BKNG

Booking Holdings Inc. Common StClose $167.21EOD only
Max Pain
$165.00
Next expiry Jun 5, 2026
Expected Move
±$7.05
4.2% from close
Price Gap
-2.21
Distance to max pain
IV Rank
17
Low premium
P/C OI
0.84
Slightly call-heavy
Consensus
5.5/10
Range bias
Published snapshot: Jun 2, 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
Jun 2, 2026 close
BKNG Theta Report
Analysis based on market close April 15, 2026

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

You are viewing an older report from April 15, 2026. A newer theta report is available for May 26, 2026.

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Theta Verdict

Attractiveness6 / 10
Sizing: Moderate
Primary: Put credit spreads near the $176–$180 support cluster
Invalidation: Close below gamma flip ~$176
Confidence:
4.5 / 10
base 5; -1 GEX/flow contradict; +1 GEX positive (pinning); -1 spot 7.3% from MP; +0.5 VIX 18

IV Environment

IV Regime
High
IV vs VIX
Avg IV 69.3% vs VIX 18.17 — ATM term slice shows 2026-04-17 ATM 73.6% and 2026-05-01 ATM 52.3%, indicating very elevated short-term vol and a steep near-term skew
Favorable?
Yes

Term structure: Large front-week IV (2d 73.6%) then drop to 9d 46.1% with a bump at 16d 52.3% — short-dated vol richly priced vs multi-week expirations

💰Very high short-dated IV (2d ATM 73.6%) creates attractive theta for sellers who avoid naked earnings exposure
⚠️Term structure is fractured (large 2d vs 9d gap) — selling multi-week vs immediate-week is preferable to naked weeklies

Pin Risk Assessment

Spot vs MP: Above

GEX regime: Pinning ($+29.9M)

Gamma flip: ~$176.00Approx — based on put OI concentration of 10,827 (5.2% below spot)

OI concentrations: Max pain near-dates $173 (4/17), $176 (4/24) vs spot $185.69; call OI wall concentrated at $232-$244; near-term GEX magnets at $188 (+$5.1M), $190 (+$3.2M), $180 (+$2.8M), $184 (+$2.5M)

Verdict: Favorable — positive Total GEX $29.9M and concentrated put OI around $172-$176 create a pinning magnet toward the $176-$180 area that supports defined-risk short-put credit structures, but risk rises if price breaches the gamma flip ~$176

Premium Opportunities

#1
Put credit spread
Sell 2026-05-15 $173.60/$147.20 put spread
Sell a ~30 DTE put credit spread sized to risk tolerance around the $176–$180 support cluster; collects elevated premium while defined long put caps downside. Avoid if price breaks and closes <~$176.
Credit: $2.61-$3.19
Max loss: $23.21
BE: $170.41
Mgmt: Take 50–65% profit on credit collected; tighten or buy back if close below gamma flip ~$176 or if IV collapses post-earnings. Liquidity warning: Liquidity constraints: short_put: Wide spread (68%).; long_put: Volume below 5.
#2
Cash-secured put
Sell 2026-05-15 $166.40 cash-secured put
Sell ~30 DTE cash-secured puts with a delta ~0.20 targeted below ~$176; size for assignment and avoid expirations that land during earnings.
Credit: $2.52-$3.08
Max loss: $163.32
BE: $163.32
Mgmt: Reduce size near earnings; close on >50% profit or if price closes below gamma flip ~$176. Liquidity warning: Liquidity constraints: short_put: Open interest below 25.

Risk Alerts

!Earnings on 2026-04-28 (13d) — do not sell naked through this print; prefer expirations that expire before or well after earnings with hedges.
!Gamma flip ~$176 — a close below this level can accelerate downside; tighten risk or exit put-side exposure on breaches.
!Very high short-dated IV (2d ATM 73.6%) — while attractive for sellers, this also signals event/crash risk in the front-week.
!Net premium flow -$43.0M (bearish) and put/call volume ~0.95 — flow could bias downside; manage positions for asymmetric moves.
!Concentrated call OI wall at $232-$244 (structural) is far from spot and unlikely to defend near-term — do not rely on distant call walls for immediate resistance.
How to Use These Reports
This theta reflects the market close on April 15, 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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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.