thetaOwl

LLY

Eli Lilly and CompanyClose $1018.87EOD only
Max Pain
$975.00
Next expiry May 22, 2026
Expected Move
±$24.27
2.4% from close
Price Gap
-43.87
Distance to max pain
IV Rank
18
Low premium
P/C OI
1.23
Slightly put-heavy
Consensus
4/4
Partial coverage
Published snapshot: May 20, 2026 close
End-of-day snapshot

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

Published Snapshot
May 20, 2026 close
LLY Flow Report
Analysis based on market close March 31, 2026

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

Flow Verdict

BiasBullish
Confirmation: Spot holds above $920 and call premium dominance continues into next week's expirations.
Invalidation: Spot breaks below $900 with a surge in put premium or P/C ratio rising above 0.8.
Confidence:
7.5 / 10
base 5; +2.5 extremely bullish net premium & P/C ratio; +0.5 spot at max pain; -0.5 negative GEX pro-cyclical risk

Watch next session: $1000C OI buildup and flow; Spot reaction near $920 max pain level; Any defensive put flow near $890-$910

Flow Summary

Net premium: +$71.2M bullish

P/C volume ratio: 0.37 — extremely call-dominant

P/C OI ratio: 1.35 — put-skewed positioning

Aggressive, short-dated call buying is driving a massive bullish premium flow, overwhelming a longer-term put-heavy OI structure. The market is positioned for a near-term breakout, betting against the longer-term put walls.

Notable Prints

#1
LLY 4/10 $1050 Call
Vol: 4,180
OI: 227
Vol/OI: 18.4x
IV: 38.7%
Notional: ~$3.8M
Intent: Fresh, aggressive directional call buying
Dual read: Bought to open (bullish breakout bet) or sold/written (neutral to bearish). High vol/oi and low IV relative to front week favor buyer.

Read-through: A bet on a >14% move higher in 10 days, targeting a breakout above the $1000-$1050 resistance zone. Size and strike suggest conviction.

#2
LLY 4/2 $1100 Call
Vol: 1,305
OI: 113
Vol/OI: 11.6x
IV: 75.0%
Notional: ~$1.2M
Intent: High-risk, high-reward directional lottery ticket
Dual read: Almost certainly bought (bullish). The 75% IV is expensive, making selling unattractive for such a low delta, far OTM strike.

Read-through: Pure speculation on a massive, >19% move higher in just 2 days. Highlights extreme bullish sentiment and risk appetite in the near term.

#3
LLY 4/10 $1000 Call
Vol: 1,975
OI: 183
Vol/OI: 10.8x
IV: 39.4%
Notional: ~$1.8M
Intent: Directional call buying targeting key resistance
Dual read: Bought to open (bullish). The $1000 strike is a major OI magnet (2,262 OI), and this flow adds to it.

Read-through: Strategic bet on breaking through the $1000 level within 10 days. Complements the $1050C flow, building a bullish ladder.

#4
LLY 4/2 $970 Call
Vol: 2,324
OI: 261
Vol/OI: 8.9x
IV: 46.9%
Notional: ~$2.1M
Intent: Near-term directional bet or gamma scalp
Dual read: Likely bought (bullish). With spot at $920, this is a 5.5% OTM bet in 2 days. High volume suggests active positioning for a quick move.

Read-through: Targets a move to the upper bound of the 2-day expected move ($961.87). Part of the concentrated front-week bullish activity.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Overwhelmingly in Apr'26 expirations ($945-$1100), focused on 4/2 and 4/10. Largest premium at $950C and $1000C.

Put additions: Minimal in flow. Long-term OI is heavily put-skewed (P/C OI 1.35), with large walls at $400P, $790P, and $600P.

GEX/DEX consistency: Mixed. Flow is wildly bullish, but GEX is negative (-$2.7M). This creates a pro-cyclical, trending regime: moves higher could accelerate (dealers short gamma), but a break lower could also snowball.

OI clusters: Major Call: $1000 (2,262 OI). Major Puts: $400 (3,177 OI), $790 (2,908 OI), $600 (2,106 OI). Spot is pinned between near-term call OI ($1000) and long-term put OI ($790-$400).

Hedging evidence: The massive, deep OTM put walls ($400, $600) are likely long-term portfolio hedges or tail-risk protection, not recent directional bets. Minimal near-term protective put flow observed.

Max pain context: Spot ($919.77) is precisely at the near-term max pain ($920 for 3/27, 4/10, 4/24). This pin is being challenged by aggressive call buying. The longer-term MP trend is falling ($920 → $890), aligning with the put-skewed OI.

Signal vs Noise

~The $1340 Put with net premium -$2.39M is a notable outlier but is likely a leg of a complex, far-dated structure (e.g., collar, ratio spread) given its extreme distance from spot (~45% OTM). Not a direct directional signal.
~High volume in front-week (4/2) calls includes gamma/scalping activity from dealers and fast money due to negative GEX, amplifying the bullish flow signal but adding volatility.
~The deep OTM put OI ($400, $600) is stale, long-term hedging and should not be conflated with recent directional sentiment.

Key Conclusions

🚀Explosive call buying dominates flow, with +$71M net premium betting on a near-term breakout.
⚖️Market is at a tension point: bullish flow & spot at max pain vs. negative GEX and long-term put walls.
🎯Key levels to watch: Upside break above $1000 confirms flow thesis; breakdown below $900 invalidates it.
How to Use These Reports
This flow reflects the market close on March 31, 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.