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HYG

iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETFClose $79.91EOD only

Max Pain

$79.50

Next expiry May 29, 2026

Expected Move

±$0.41

0.5% from close

Price Gap

-0.41

Distance to max pain

IV Rank

Low premium

P/C OI

3.83

Slightly put-heavy

Consensus

9.0/10

Bearish tilt

Published snapshot: May 22, 2026 close

End-of-day snapshot

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

Published Snapshot

May 22, 2026 close

HYG Flow Report

Analysis based on market close April 7, 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 7, 2026. A newer flow report is available for May 22, 2026.

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Flow Verdict

Confidence:

8 / 10

base 5; +2 GEX/flow strongly aligned; +1 spot 0.3% from MP

Watch next session: Volume and premium at $79/$78 puts (exp 4/10 & 4/17) — sustained heavy put buying would reinforce bearish flow; Call OI/GEX at $81 (large +$325.2M GEX) — any concentrated buying or unwind here could create resistance or pin behavior

Flow Summary

Net premium: -$10.2M bearish

P/C volume ratio: 3.33 — heavy put dominant (large intraday put demand)

P/C OI ratio: 4.70 — structural put lean (positioning concentrated on downside strikes)

Flow is decisively bearish: both real-time volume and persistent OI show heavy put accumulation concentrated 74–79 strikes. Dealers are short gamma (Total GEX $-2.4B) and the net premium negative confirms smart money is either buying downside protection or placing directional bearish bets. Near-term dealers will be pressured into selling into down moves (negative GEX) which can accelerate falls while clustered call GEX at $81-$83 creates a resistance band/ pin area if price rallies.

Notable Prints

HYG 2026-09-18 $75.00 Put

Vol: 26,060

OI: 10,737

Vol/OI: 2.4x

IV: 22.4%

Notional: ~$1.56M

Intent: Directional/hedge (large multi-month put accumulation suggests institutional protection or bearish directional positioning)

Dual read: Could be pure protection (buying puts to hedge credit exposures) or outright bearish speculative buying.

Read-through: Significant long-dated downside insurance centered at $75 indicates institutions are insuring against a >6% fall; heavy notional and terminess increases downside skew for dealers and supports continued negative GEX exposure.

HYG 2026-04-10 $78.50 Put

Vol: 5,282

OI: 2,112

Vol/OI: 2.5x

IV: 21.6%

Notional: ~$45K

Intent: Near-term directional/flip hedge into the April 10 expiry (short-dated bearish exposure or fast hedge against coupon/market moving event)

Dual read: Could be a short-term protective buy (hedge) or directional speculative put buying.

Read-through: Elevated short-dated put activity at $78.50 (2% below spot) aligns with the broader put-heavy flow and will push dealer hedging to sell bonds/ETF on downticks if price falls into the $78–79 area.

HYG 2026-07-17 $79.00 Call (ITM)

Vol: 2,227

OI: 731

Vol/OI: 3.0x

IV: 7.7%

Notional: ~$220K

Intent: Long-dated call buying — could be a strategic bullish exposure or a structured overlay (roll/coverage) against an existing short position

Dual read: Either fresh bullish exposure (long call) or someone buying calls to facilitate a covered position / overwrite (neutral).

Read-through: This sizable long-dated call print is a partial counterpoint to short-term bearish flow; because IV is low and it's ITM, it may be part of a larger cross-expiry structure rather than a pure directional reversal signal.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: $81.00-$83.00 calls have large OI clusters (81.00 OI=246,113; 83.00 OI=81,307) — call interest concentrated as a short-term ceiling / possible pin zone.

Put additions: Heavy put accumulation at $79.00 (OI=568,638), $77.00 (OI=412,670), $78.00 (OI=377,087), and $74.00 (OI=368,486) — clear institutional addition to downside protection between $74–79.

GEX/DEX consistency: Yes — negative Total GEX (-$2.4B) and DEX +204.4M shares are consistent with the bearish flow and concentrated put hedging described by the volume and OI.

OI clusters: Largest OI clusters: $79.00 put (568,638), $77.00 put (412,670), $78.00 put (377,087); call clusters at $81.00 (246,113) and $80.00 (88,883). These create a downside 'put floor' around $74–75 and a near-term pin/resistance around $79.50–$81.00.

Hedging evidence: Strong evidence of large-scale protective puts (multi-expiry, concentrated at 74–79). Limited evidence of collars — call OI exists but likely as separate structures or sell-side overwrites rather than symmetric collars.

Max pain context: Max pain pins are clustered at $79.50–$80.00 across nearby expirations; spot is 'At' MP and MP is trending slightly higher, which increases the likelihood of dealer pinning activity into the $79.50–$80.00 band in the near term.

Signal vs Noise

~HYG 2026-07-17 $79.00 call — long-dated and ITM; could be part of a larger cross-expiry structure or a corporate/portfolio overlay rather than pure directional bullishness.

~Large call OI at $81.00 (and associated positive GEX) may reflect dealer inventory related to prior option issuance or structured product positioning (not necessarily fresh bullish conviction).

~Some vol at deep long-dated puts (2026-11 / 2027 expiries) likely reflects longer-term tail protection purchases and strategic hedging rather than near-term directional intent.

Key Conclusions

🐻Net flow is bearish: net premium -$10.2M with P/C volume 3.33 and P/C OI 4.70 — clear downside bias centered at $74–79 strikes.

⚠️Dealers are short gamma (Total GEX $-2.4B) — downside moves can accelerate as dealers hedge by selling underlying ETF into weakness.

📌Near-term pin/resistance band: $79.50–$81.00 (multiple max pain and large call OI / GEX concentration at $81.00).

🛡️Large put clusters (79, 77, 78, 74) indicate institutional protective positioning — these strikes form a defensive floor but also show expectation of downside risk.

👀Watch short-dated put flow into 4/10 and any compression of premium — continued high put buying or widening negative net premium will confirm further downside.

How to Use These Reports

This flow reflects the market close on April 7, 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.