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IWM

iShares Russell 2000 ETFClose $285.12EOD only

Max Pain

$279.00

Next expiry May 26, 2026

Expected Move

±$3.67

1.3% from close

Price Gap

-6.12

Distance to max pain

IV Rank

Low premium

P/C OI

2.72

Slightly put-heavy

Consensus

6.0/10

Consensus signal

Published snapshot: May 22, 2026 close

End-of-day snapshot

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

Published Snapshot

May 22, 2026 close

IWM Flow Report

Analysis based on market close April 7, 2026

Directional Theta Gang Flow Earnings Consensus

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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:

7.5 / 10

base 5; +2 GEX/flow strongly aligned (Total GEX -$577.7M & Net Premium -$137.6M); +0.5 spot 2.0% from MP

Watch next session: New put flow or OI accumulation at $240/$235 expiries (short-dated) — watch volumes vs OI on 4/09 & 4/13; Price behavior around $248-$250 (max pain band) and dealer gamma reactions near $256-$260 call cluster

Flow Summary

Net premium: -$137.6M bearish

P/C volume ratio: 2.79 — heavy put-dominant intraday flow

P/C OI ratio: 2.50 — structural put-heavy positioning

Large, concentrated put buying and net negative premium drove a clear bearish flow today. Dealers are short gamma (Total GEX -$577.7M) and will exacerbate downside moves; top OI and premium flows cluster around $240-$250, creating a put-heavy floor below spot while call-side GEX concentrations at $255-$260 offer local resistance/pin magnets.

Notable Prints

IWM 2026-04-13 $247.00 Put

Vol: 26,167

OI: 253

Vol/OI: 103.4x

IV: 37.4%

Notional: ~$6.04M

Intent: Large directional put buying (short-dated roll/hedge for large equity exposure or outright bearish spec)

Dual read: Aggressive bought puts (bearish) OR a block establishing a put leg for a synthetic/structured trade (neutral-to-bearish hedging)

Read-through: High conviction bearish flow aimed at protection or directional downside; size and extreme vol/OI ratio indicate fresh demand rather than roll.

IWM 2026-04-13 $235.00 Put

Vol: 29,160

OI: 463

Vol/OI: 63.0x

IV: 43.8%

Notional: ~$1.84M

Intent: Directional/deeper protection (long-dated-ish protective put accumulation into the week)

Dual read: Bought as tail protection (hedge) OR sold as part of a wide put spread (income) — but high IV and large volume point to buying pressure

Read-through: Traders are laying out protection well below spot; paired with the $247 prints, it signals layered hedging across expiries.

IWM 2026-04-09 $240.00 Put

Vol: 13,704

OI: 765

Vol/OI: 17.9x

IV: 52.1%

Notional: ~$0.49M

Intent: Short-dated bearish/speculative put buying or protective re-hedge into the 4/9 expiry

Dual read: Bought puts (bearish) OR short-dated option sellers unwinding (liquidation) — but elevated IV and vol/OI suggest fresh demand

Read-through: Short-dated protection concentrated near $240 — increases gamma risk for dealers into the 4/9 expiry and supports short-term downside pressure.

IWM 2026-04-08 $249.00 Put

Vol: 16,747

OI: 958

Vol/OI: 17.5x

IV: 50.3%

Notional: ~$1.86M

Intent: Very near-term bearish hedging (exp 4/8) — defensive put buying to protect positions through immediate event window

Dual read: Bought puts for protection OR block trading in a structured trade — timing and IV point to protection

Read-through: Concentrated near-term put demand right around max pain levels; dealers will be short delta into the close, amplifying any down moves.

IWM 2026-04-08 $252.00 Call (ITM)

Vol: 10,990

OI: 743

Vol/OI: 14.8x

IV: 52.5%

Notional: ~$3.55M

Intent: Call buying or long-stock replacement (buyers taking upside exposure ahead of expiry) OR delta-hedge activity from put sellers

Dual read: Aggressive callers (bullish/short-cover) OR market makers/blocks establishing calls to offset other positions (neutral)

Read-through: Significant call flow concurrent with put wave — likely paired structured activity or spreads; alone it doesn't offset the dominant put premium negativity.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Some call OI build at $255-$260 (near-term GEX +$2.9M @ $260, +$1.9M @ $255) but premium flow is heavily negative overall (exceptions at $260 and $253 showed net call premium).

Put additions: Clear institutional/large-trader accumulation of puts at $240, $245, $235 and out to $295 (premium flows show heavy put net at $240 and $250 with Net -$30.2M and -$29.8M respectively). Top OI: $240 PUT OI=144,456; $245 PUT OI=123,703; $230 PUT OI=104,715.

GEX/DEX consistency: Yes — negative Total GEX (-$577.7M) and positive DEX (183.5M shares) are consistent with bearish flow and dealer short-gamma positioning that will amplify downside.

OI clusters: Large OI clusters on puts around $240-$245-$230 create a put-heavy floor below spot (notably 144,456 OI at $240). Call clusters are smaller but concentrated at $256-$260 (call OI 1,253 @ $256, 1,134 @ $260) — these create local resistance/pin targets in the upper EM band.

Hedging evidence: Yes — multi-expiry protective put accumulation (short-dated 4/08-4/09 and 4/13 flows) points to risk-reduction by large holders; limited evidence of collars but layered put buying suggests institutional hedging rather than pure speculation.

Max pain context: Max Pain is clustered at $248-$250 across near expirations; spot ($252.91) sits above MP, so dealer flows and put-heavy premium could pull spot toward the $248-$250 pain band in the near term.

Signal vs Noise

~Concentration of heavy activity in 4/08 and 4/09 expiries — expect expiration-hedge behavior and gamma pinning; not all short-dated puts imply fresh long-term bearish bets.

~Large vol/OI ratios on 4/13 strikes (e.g., $247 & $235) likely indicate fresh single-block buys or hedge placement — high vol/OI = genuine new flow, but could also be one-off structured trades.

~Call print at $252 (4/08 ITM) may be dealer delta-hedge or short-covering into expiry rather than a pure bullish signal.

~Some premium at farther OTM strikes (e.g., $295 put premium) likely reflects structured tail hedges rather than leveraged directional bets.

Key Conclusions

🐻Net premium and P/C metrics are strongly bearish (Net Premium -$137.6M; P/C volume 2.79, P/C OI 2.50). Dealers are short gamma (Total GEX -$577.7M) which amplifies downside risk.

📌Max pain and near-term put OI cluster sit around $248-$250 — this is the first target/pin area to watch as flows may pull spot toward it.

⚠️Large short-dated put activity (4/08–4/09) will increase near-term gamma pressure; watch intraday declines that steepen dealer selling into the move.

🔎Notable block buys at $247 (4/13) and $235 (4/13) show layered institutional hedging — expect defensive positioning across expiries rather than single-expiry speculation.

🧭Key resistance proximate to spot: $256.00-$260.00 (call GEX + pin magnets). Key support (dealer put floors): $248.00, $244.00, $240.00 — watch price reaction at these levels.

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.

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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.