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GOOGL

Alphabet Inc.Close $336.02EOD only

Max Pain

$310.00

Next expiry Apr 17, 2026

Expected Move

±$4.21

1.3% from close

Price Gap

-26.02

Distance to max pain

IV Rank

100

High premium

P/C OI

0.80

Slightly call-heavy

Consensus

6.5/10

Consensus signal

Published snapshot: Apr 16, 2026 close

End-of-day snapshot

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

Published Snapshot

Apr 16, 2026 close

GOOGL Directional Report

Analysis based on market close April 15, 2026

Directional Theta Gang Flow Earnings Consensus

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

Outlook

Neutral-to-bullish with an upside magnet toward the 345 area; confidence base 8.0/10. Primary supports: heavy bullish net premium (+$267.0M), concentrated positive GEX (+$267.2M) clustered at 335/340/345, and multiple large near-term call blocks reinforcing buy-side flow conflicts: spot is 3.7% above nearest max-pain $325 and short-dated IV knee into earnings (2026-04-23) could reprice volatility.

Confidence:

8 / 10

Baseline 5.0 + adjustments = 8.0; adjustments reflect deterministic inputs and observed prints.

Supports: 1) Net premium +$267.0M and P/C vol 0.30 indicate structurally bullish flow; 2) Positive GEX concentrated at 335/340/345 will bias spot into those strikes as dealers hedge; 3) Multiple large near-term call prints at 332.50, 335, and 340 materially reinforce buy-side flow, increasing the chance of short-term pinning.
Conflicts: 1) Max pain trend lower ($325900) creates medium-term downside risk if flow reverses; 2) Earnings on 2026-04-23 may reprice mid-term IV and trigger rapid moves.

📌Positive GEX concentrated at 335/340/345 — expect dealer delta selling/short-hedging as spot probes those strikes (GEX +$55.8M at 345).

📈Net premium strongly bullish (+$267.0M) with P/C vol 0.30 — bias toward selling downside protection and collecting premium.

⏳IV term structure: short-dated IV knee into earnings (2–9d) vs elevated 16–45d IV — prefer 16–45 DTE to own event convexity or sell front-week decay.

Regime Classification

Vol Regime

Normal

Vol: Normal — ATM IVs are elevated in mid-term expiries but within typical post-earnings pricing; average IV 43.9% driven by 16–37d expiries.

Gamma Regime

Pinning

Gamma: Pinning — large NTM GEX clusters at 335/340/345 create a local magnet that biases spot toward those strikes as dealers hedge; this increases short-term mean reversion into the cluster.

Flow Regime

Bullish

Flow: Bullish — net premium inflows and low put activity (P/C vol 0.30) indicate market participants are buying calls or selling puts, supporting short-put and call-spread selling strategies.

Spot vs Max Pain

Above

Spot vs MP: Above — spot $337.12 sits above nearest MP $325; this creates upward dealer hedging asymmetry but also longer-term downward MP trend risk across expirations.

Thesis duration: Multi-week — Pinning, bullish premium, and persistent OI/GEX clusters at 335/340/345 across multiple weekly expirations support a 2–6 week thesis; weeklies are tactical overlays while primary sizing should use 30–45 DTE.

Price Range Forecast

Next 2 days

$330.55$343.69

2d EM upper bound $343.69; a push above $343.69 with tape support will challenge $345 resistance where GEX +$55.8M concentrates.

Next 1 week

$331.57$342.67

1w EM upper $342.67; failure below $331.57 (1w lower) increases odds of reversion toward max pain $325; sustained close above $345 removes pin and exposes 350/355 clusters.

Next 2 weeks

$313.52$360.72

2w lower bound $313.52 coincides with deterministic support; breakout above $360.72 requires outsized call demand or positive earnings surprise on 2026-04-23.

Key Levels

Max pain pins: $325 (2026-04-15); $308 (2026-04-17); $320 (2026-04-20)

EM guardrails: 2d $330.55/$343.69; 1w $331.57/$342.67

Support: $325.00 · $313.52

Resistance: $340.00 · $345.00 · $350.00

Structural: Put floor $200-$215 is the long-dated structural downside; treat as reserve-capital layer and do not size tactical trades to that level.

Dealer Positioning (GEX/DEX)

GEX: $+267.2M

DEX: +85.9M shares

Gamma flip: N/A

NTM gamma: NTM gamma concentrated at 335 (+$26.8M), 340 (+$20.7M), 345 (+$55.8M) — dealers net long gamma near these strikes meaning rallies into them will see dealer delta selling (capping upside) while 2% drops toward ~330 force dealers to buy delta, providing transient support.

IV Analysis

IV vs VIX: GOOGL mid-term IV (16–45d ~36–41%) is rich vs VIX 18.2 in absolute terms but comparable to tech peers; short-dated IV is suppressed relative to mid-dated, creating an exploitable front-to-back skew.

Term structure: Term structure shows an earnings/event kink: 2–9d ATM ~26–32% then a jump to 16d ATM 41.1%; this makes selling front-week decay and buying mid-dated vol into earnings viable.

Skew: Skew biased to calls at 335/345/355; actionable mispriced opportunity: sell 2026-04-24 335 call / buy 2026-05-15 335 call calendar to monetize short-term decay and own May earnings convexity.

Flow Analysis

Net premium: Net premium strongly bullish (+$267.0M) with P/C vol 0.30 and P/C OI 0.85 overall flow favors call demand and put selling.

Directional prints: 16.8 call 335 ITM 2026-04-15 — GOOGL 2026-04-15 C335 large print (Vol 37,776 OI 1,892). Two-sided read: aggressive call buys vs closing short calls; given overall bullish net premium and additional call flow, preferred read = new call buying reinforcing upside pressure. 40.1 call 332.5 ITM 2026-04-15 — GOOGL 2026-04-15 C332.50 block (Vol 11,457 OI 2,698). Size and ITM status materially add to short-dated bullish flow; likely fresh call accumulation rather than merely rolling, increasing short-term pin probability at 332.535. 7.8 call 340 OTM 2026-04-15 — GOOGL 2026-04-15 C340 large print (Vol 18,547 OI 2,932). The high-volume 340 prints (despite low IV) support dealer positioning and potential front-week gamma; preferred read = aggressive call activity adding resistance-testing upside bias. 38.1 call 355 OTM 2026-05-15 — GOOGL 2026-05-15 C355 block (Vol 45,455 OI 3,625). Two-sided: directional long calls or financed positions; aligned with heavy premium at 355, preferred read = long-dated call accumulation (bullish).

Unusual: 26.9 put 332.5 OTM 2026-04-17 — GOOGL 2026-04-17 P332.50 print (Vol 4,191 OI 360). Could be protective buying or small short-put sales; given low overall put flow, preferred read = modest protective buys. 26 put 335 OTM 2026-04-17 — GOOGL 2026-04-17 P335 print (Vol 6,013 OI 687). Sizeable relative to other puts and close to spot; two-sided read: protective buying ahead of short-term noise or aggressive short-put sales; in context of strong call flow, treats this as selective protection rather than wholesale put accumulation, but it raises the threshold for short-put selling and suggests tighter management for naked/credit put sellers.

Risks & Catalysts

!Earnings (2026-04-23) can reprice 16–45d IV and force rapid moves outside EM bounds; monitor IV for a >8 vol point move.

!Dealer hedging near 345 may create transient resistance and increased spreads; failed probes can cause sharp IV contraction hurting long calls.

!Max pain trend down (325→300) over multiple expiries implies asymmetric medium-term downside if flows reverse to put buying.

!Cross-asset risk: QQQ strength can lift GOOGL, but a broad risk-off leg would feed long-dated put demand and widen spreads.

Strategy Viability

Strategy	Edge	Best Setup	Primary Risk
Put credit spread	Moderate-Strong	Sell 2026-04-24 $325.00/$310.00 put spread Why now: Bullish flow, low put activity, and pin near 335/340 make short-put credit spreads attractive 9–16 DTE to collect premium while capping risk beneath support levels.	Earnings IV jump and MP reversion causing short-put stress.
Bull call spread	Moderate	Buy 2026-05-01 $345.00/$365.00 call spread Why now: Large call flow at 335/345 and positive GEX create a higher prob of pinning around 335–345; a 16–37 DTE bull call spread captures upside while keeping defined risk.	If spot stalls under 335, spread loses premium; IV collapse post-earnings reduces call value.
Cash-secured put	Moderate	Sell 2026-05-01 $310.00 cash-secured put Why now: Low put demand and bullish net premium plus support at $325 gives a favorable asymmetric entry to pick up shares at desired levels while collecting premium.	Assignment before earnings or a gap down to 313–320; requires cash reserve.
PMCC / LEAPS diagonal	Moderate	Buy 2026-08-21 $360.00 call + sell 2026-05-15 $365.00 call Why now: Structural put floor distant and long-dated call OI exists; PMCC profits from bullish flow and reduces carry by selling near-term calls against a long-dated call replacement.	Requires capital for long call; short calls may be assigned if stock runs before roll.
Long call	Conditional	Buy 2026-05-22 $365.00 call Why now: Positive flow and pin bias favor buying convexity; use 37–93 DTE to capture post-earnings move while avoiding the most expensive 16d IV knee.	IV crush if earnings are priced out; premium cost is significant vs spreads.
Long put	Moderate-Weak	Buy 2026-05-01 $315.00 put Why now: Max pain shows downward bias and a 2w lower EM at $313.52; long puts hedge the asymmetric downside risk around earnings or pin failure.	Costly if no downside realization; IV rise could increase premium but also widen spreads.
Call credit spread	Moderate	Sell 2026-05-01 $365.00/$375.00 call spread Why now: Heavy OI and GEX at 345/350 suggest resistance; selling call credit spreads 345/350 9–30 DTE harvests premium with defined risk if the pin fails to push through.	Large gap-up or concentrated call buying could cause short-call stress before roll.
Iron condor	Moderate-Weak	Sell 2026-04-17 $330.00/$325.00 put wing and $345.00/$350.00 call wing Why now: 2d/1w EM bounds tight ($330.55–$343.69 / $331.57–$342.67) and low put activity support a defined-range iron condor sized for the pin.	Earnings-driven gap or large directional print will blow wings; require tight risk management.

Top Plays

9–16d Put Credit Spread (330/320)

Sell 2026-04-24 $325.00/$310.00 put spread

Sell short-dated put credit spread targeting 330/320 (9–16 DTE) to harvest premium while keeping defined risk below support $325 and 1w EM lower $331.57.

Why this play: Matches bullish flow and low put demand, collects premium near support while limiting downside to $320 in event of a pullback.

Credit: $1.59-$1.95

Max loss: $13.05

BE: $323.05

Mgmt: If spot falls to $325, tighten or buy protection; if assigned, keep stock or roll down to 315–310 depending on conviction.

Account owners wanting yield or traders targeting entry near 325–330.

16–37d Bull Call Spread (Buy 335 / Sell 345)

Buy 2026-05-01 $345.00/$365.00 call spread

Buy a 16–37d call spread 335/345 to capture upside toward the heavy GEX at 345 while limiting cost if the pin fails.

Why this play: Defined-risk upside play that benefits from pin pressure toward 345 and avoids paying full long-call premia into earnings knee.

Debit: $4.81-$5.88

Max loss: $5.88

BE: $350.88

Mgmt: Close if IV collapses post-earnings and spread is underwater; if spread is profitable into 345, consider rolling short call to 350 to realize gains.

Traders bullish on tech and the next two-week horizon who prefer defined loss.

Watchlist Triggers

Entry Triggers

IFIf spot trades down to $331.57 (1w EM lower) then → enter S1 put_credit_spread short 330 / long 320 with 9–16 DTE.

IFIf spot rallies and rejects at $345.00 (deterministic resistance) then → enter S8 call_credit_spread short 345 / long 350 with 9–30 DTE.

IFIf spot holds $335.00 for two sessions then → enter S4 calendar_call sell 2026-04-24 335 call buy 2026-05-15 335 call.

Adjustment Triggers

ADJIf IV(16d) rises >5 vol points vs current (e.g., ATM moves from ~41% to >46%) then → close or reduce short-call exposure in S4 and widen PMCC short call strikes by +5 points.

ADJIf spot gaps below $325.00 then → close S1 put_credit_spread and switch to S7 long_put 320 8–16 DTE hedge.

Exit Triggers

EXITIf spot >350.00 before expiry then → take profits on S2 bull_call_spread and consider rolling short leg up to 355 or closing S4 short leg.

EXITIf IV collapses post-earnings by >8 vol points across 16–37d then → close long-call exposure (S6) and harvest calendars (S4) as short legs decay.

Tactical Summary

Primary thesis: short-dated income plays around the 335–345 pin while retaining mid-dated convexity into earnings; invalidation is a clean breakout above 350 (upside) or a quick break below 331.57/325 (downside). Regime favors selling premium near the pin (calendar, put credit, call credit) and defined-risk bullish spreads for upside exposure; top plays: calendar (S4) for income+convexity, put credit (S1) for yield, bull-call spread (S2) for defined upside.

Read the Directional analysis for GOOGL for 2026-04-15. Each report is a market-close snapshot with regime read, key levels, and strategy context that translates options positioning into an actionable setup.