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IWM

iShares Russell 2000 ETFClose $275.78EOD only

Max Pain

$265.00

Next expiry Apr 20, 2026

Expected Move

±$1.47

0.5% from close

Price Gap

-10.78

Distance to max pain

IV Rank

100

High premium

P/C OI

2.67

Slightly put-heavy

Consensus

6.5/10

Bullish tilt

Published snapshot: Apr 17, 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

Apr 17, 2026 close

IWM Flow Report

Analysis based on market close April 20, 2026

Directional Theta Gang Flow Earnings Consensus

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

Flow Verdict

Confidence:

9 / 10

base 5; +2 GEX/flow strongly aligned; +1 GEX positive (pinning); +0.5 spot 1.6% from MP; +0.5 VIX 19

Watch next session: Price reaction at 275–278 strikes; Change in GEX after option expiries; VIX direction and put-call flow balance

Flow Summary

Net premium: +$48.1M bullish

P/C volume ratio: 1.59

P/C OI ratio: 2.43

Heavy short-dated put volume and elevated PCRs produce downside pressure and strike pinning near 276–277, but sizeable positive GEX and mixed flow limit large moves; monitor expiries and VIX for directional resolution.

Notable Prints

IWM 2026-04-21 $277.00 Put

Vol: 7,215

OI: 126

Vol/OI: 57.3x

IV: 16.3%

Notional: ~$815K

Intent: large opener

Dual read: protection/short-sell

Read-through: pin-to-277

IWM 2026-04-20 $277.00 Call

Vol: 97,609

OI: 2,203

Vol/OI: 44.3x

IV: 10.5%

Notional: ~$3.5M

Intent: short-gamma sell

Dual read: synthetic/flow

Read-through: pin-support

IWM 2026-04-20 $276.00 Put

Vol: 57,920

OI: 1,462

Vol/OI: 39.6x

IV: 5.1%

Notional: ~$58K

Intent: hedge sell

Dual read: protect/assignment risk

Read-through: downside hedging

IWM 2026-04-20 $278.00 Call

Vol: 74,946

OI: 2,057

Vol/OI: 36.4x

IV: 3.7%

Notional: ~$150K

Intent: call compression

Dual read: buy-cover/flow

Read-through: cap-above-spot

IWM 2026-04-21 $271.00 Put

Vol: 6,085

OI: 256

Vol/OI: 23.8x

IV: 19.4%

Notional: ~$43K

Intent: Unclear flow intent

Read-through: Needs contextual interpretation.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Notable same‑day call prints concentrated 276–278 (4/20); short‑dated call OI spikes suggest directional selling/expressed bullish bets but could be transient

Put additions: Heavy short‑dated put buying seen 275–277 (4/20–4/21) with elevated volume and IV; puts concentrated below spot indicate downside protection or speculative hedges

GEX/DEX consistency: GEX +$75.8M and DEX +180.7M shares are consistent with dealer hedging and potential pinning pressure around 276–278, though magnitude may shift with intraday flows

OI clusters: Largest OI clusters at 276–278 calls and 275–277 puts (caller and put OI concentrations noted); these levels are focal for expiries

Hedging evidence: Patterns consistent with short‑dated protective puts/collars and market‑maker delta hedging; gamma exposure could accelerate moves if spot breaches key strikes

Max pain context: Max pain ~276–277; spot ~1.6% above MP — increases chance of pinning but not guaranteed given volatility and order flow risk

Signal vs Noise

~Signal: concentrated short‑dated put OI and large same‑day call volumes at 276–278 form the primary flow signal

~Signal: GEX/DEX magnitudes support dealer hedging/pinning dynamics but are conditional on continued flow

~Noise: several oddball low‑IV/high‑vol prints exist and account for a small portion of short‑dated volume (<~5%); exclude or downweight them when assessing net flow

Key Conclusions

📌Probability favors pinning pressure near 276–278 given concentrated OI and dealer hedging, but outcome is conditional and not certain

⚠️Elevated short‑dated put demand and nearby gamma exposure increase tail risk to the downside if spot gaps down; monitor IV and intraday de‑risking

How to Use These Reports

This flow reflects the market close on April 20, 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.