This page reflects IQV options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Oct 2, 2026 close
Max Pain — IQV
Data as of market close Oct 2, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-10-16 shows max pain at $260.00 (1.79 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$260.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$12.65
±4.9%
Days to Expiry
14
Calendar days
Total Call OI
1,649
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
1,394
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.85
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$258.21
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-10-16
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-08-21
$210.00
8/21/2026, 11:13:35 PM
2026-09-18
$250.00
9/18/2026, 11:18:12 PM
2026-10-16NextUpdated
$260.00
10/2/2026, 11:15:53 PM
2026-11-20
$250.00
10/2/2026, 11:15:53 PM
2027-01-15
$230.00
10/2/2026, 11:15:53 PM
2027-02-19
$260.00
10/2/2026, 11:15:53 PM
2027-05-21
$260.00
10/2/2026, 11:15:53 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-10-16 at max pain $260.00.
IQV pain by strike for 2026-10-16 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
185
0
9027500
9027500
195
0
7656500
7656500
200
10000
6971000
6981000
210
38000
5600000
5638000
220
67000
4235000
4302000
230
110000
2891000
3001000
240
155000
1577000
1732000
250
224000
419000
643000
260
311000
28000
339000
270
508000
4000
512000
280
977000
0
977000
290
1685000
0
1685000
300
3226000
0
3226000
310
4876000
0
4876000
320
6534000
0
6534000
330
8195000
0
8195000
360
13184000
0
13184000
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.