This page reflects HWM options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
May 20, 2026 close
Max Pain — HWM
Data as of market close May 20, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-05-22 shows max pain at $257.50 (3.71 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$257.50
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$6.82
±2.6%
Days to Expiry
2
Calendar days
Total Call OI
270
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
535
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
1.98
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$261.21
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-05-22
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-05-08
$250.00
5/8/2026, 11:18:05 PM
2026-05-15
$255.00
5/15/2026, 11:19:42 PM
2026-05-22NextUpdated
$257.50
5/20/2026, 11:16:45 PM
2026-05-29
$255.00
5/20/2026, 11:16:45 PM
2026-06-05
$255.00
5/20/2026, 11:16:45 PM
2026-06-12
$265.00
5/20/2026, 11:16:45 PM
2026-06-18
$240.00
5/20/2026, 11:16:45 PM
2026-06-26
$250.00
5/20/2026, 11:16:45 PM
2026-07-17
$270.00
5/20/2026, 11:16:45 PM
2026-09-18
$220.00
5/20/2026, 11:16:45 PM
2026-10-16
$175.00
5/20/2026, 11:16:45 PM
2026-12-18
$230.00
5/20/2026, 11:16:45 PM
2027-01-15
$155.00
5/20/2026, 11:16:45 PM
2027-03-19
$240.00
5/20/2026, 11:16:45 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-05-22 at max pain $257.50.
HWM pain by strike for 2026-05-22 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
145
0
3255750
3255750
170
2500
1918250
1920750
175
3000
1740250
1743250
195
5000
1240250
1245250
210
9500
880250
889750
215
11500
762250
773750
220
14000
650250
664250
225
16500
541750
558250
230
19500
441750
461250
235
24000
349250
373250
237.5
26250
304500
330750
240
28500
262250
290750
245
34500
189750
224250
247.5
38500
155000
193500
250
42750
120750
163500
252.5
53750
91500
145250
255
64750
66250
131000
257.5
83250
42000
125250
260
107500
27500
135000
262.5
134000
17750
151750
How to Read Max Pain
Compare pin-risk and strike-pressure across expirations from the latest published close.
What max pain measures
Max pain is the strike where option holders would collectively lose the most at expiration, based on open interest across the listed chain.
How traders use it
It is most useful as a possible pinning zone, especially when spot is already trading near a crowded strike into expiration.
What can break it
Strong directional flows, news, or fast spot moves can overwhelm any pinning tendency, so max pain should support a thesis rather than drive it alone.
The closer you are to expiration, the more useful this becomes as context and the less useful it is as a standalone prediction.