Home Options IWMReports

IWM

iShares Russell 2000 ETFClose $273.00EOD only

Max Pain

$278.00

Next expiry May 20, 2026

Expected Move

±$2.74

1.0% from close

Price Gap

+5.00

Distance to max pain

IV Rank

Low premium

P/C OI

2.73

Slightly put-heavy

Consensus

6.5/10

Bearish tilt

Published snapshot: May 19, 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 19, 2026 close

IWM Flow Report

Analysis based on market close May 15, 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 May 15, 2026. A newer flow report is available for May 19, 2026.

View latest report

Flow Verdict

Confidence:

8 / 10

base 5; +2 GEX/flow strongly aligned; +0.5 spot 1.3% from MP; +0.5 VIX 18

Watch next session: 258 gamma flip; put OI concentration

Flow Summary

Net premium: -$336.6M bearish

P/C volume ratio: 2.83

P/C OI ratio: 2.78

Aggressive put accumulation and record put/call ratios signal institutional defense. Bearish gamma and concentrated put OI 7% below spot add downside pressure. Despite market weakness, flow remains heavily protective.

Notable Prints

IWM 2026-05-20 $265.00 Put

Vol: 55,228

OI: 338

Vol/OI: 163.4x

IV: 45.3%

Notional: ~$2.2M

Intent: Speculative bearish bet near expiry

Dual read: Hedge for sharp drop

Read-through: Expects downside before May 20

IWM 2026-05-29 $259.00 Put

Vol: 10,213

OI: 141

Vol/OI: 72.4x

IV: 28.0%

Notional: ~$531K

Intent: Protective put buying

Dual read: Part of put spread

Read-through: Anticipates continued sell-off

IWM 2026-06-05 $269.00 Put

Vol: 7,528

OI: 106

Vol/OI: 71.0x

IV: 25.2%

Notional: ~$2.2M

Intent: Bearish position into June

Dual read: Calendar spread component

Read-through: Sees further weakness

IWM 2026-05-20 $275.00 Put

Vol: 72,736

OI: 1,129

Vol/OI: 64.4x

IV: 23.9%

Notional: ~$16.5M

Intent: Large bearish accumulation

Dual read: Hedging long stock

Read-through: Strong downside conviction

IWM 2026-05-18 $280.00 Call

Vol: 13,091

OI: 252

Vol/OI: 52.0x

IV: 12.3%

Notional: ~$681K

Intent: Unclear flow intent

Read-through: Needs contextual interpretation.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Minimal; slight call buying at 278-281 strikes but dwarfed by puts

Put additions: Massive put buying: $265P (55k vol vs 338 OI), $275P (73k vol), $259P (10k) – aggressive downside protection

GEX/DEX consistency: Bearish flow aligns with negative GEX (-$654M); DEX long +217M shares may reflect dealer hedging of put sales

OI clusters: Put OI concentrated at $275 (1129 OI) & $265 (338 OI); call OI sparse, largest at $279 (2132 OI, likely closing)

Hedging evidence: Heavy put buying suggests hedging against downside; no clear collars but short-dated puts dominate

Max pain context: Spot above max pain; gamma flip at $258 (7.1% below) indicates negative gamma zone below

Signal vs Noise

~Heavy put volumes (265/275 P) are real institutional hedging signal

~$279C expiry today with 83k vol but 0.01 price is noise (closing)

~Low IV calls ($280C, IV 12.3) likely part of spreads, not directional

Key Conclusions

⚠️Aggressive put accumulation in weekly expiries signals downside hedging

📉GEX -$654M strengthens bearish gamma polarity; resistance overhead

🔴2.8x put/call ratio and net -$337M premium confirm institutional bearish flow

How to Use These Reports

This flow reflects the market close on May 15, 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.