This page reflects M options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 18, 2026 close
Max Pain — M
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $23.00 (0.23 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$23.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.79
±3.4%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
16,223
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
8,631
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.53
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$23.23
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-08-21
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-08-07
$23.50
8/7/2026, 11:24:35 PM
2026-08-14
$25.00
8/14/2026, 11:22:07 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$23.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:05 PM
2026-08-28
$23.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:05 PM
2026-09-04
$25.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:05 PM
2026-09-11
$24.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:05 PM
2026-09-18
$22.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:05 PM
2026-09-25
$24.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:05 PM
2026-10-02
$24.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:05 PM
2026-11-20
$23.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:05 PM
2026-12-18
$22.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:05 PM
2027-01-15
$17.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:05 PM
2027-02-19
$24.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:05 PM
2027-03-19
$22.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:05 PM
2027-06-17
$20.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:05 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $23.00.
M pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
10
0
9775100
9775100
12
1200
8048900
8050100
13
2200
7246500
7248700
14
4100
6444100
6448200
15
6500
5652200
5658700
16
10600
4868300
4878900
17
18600
4096700
4115300
18
70900
3347500
3418400
18.5
108450
2998950
3107400
19
146000
2650450
2796450
19.5
203350
2319300
2522650
20
260750
1988500
2249250
20.5
334500
1684700
2019200
21
408350
1382400
1790750
21.5
521450
1125400
1646850
22
650000
871050
1521050
22.5
825450
659950
1485400
23
1001500
467700
1469200
23.5
1243300
336850
1580150
24
1509200
220600
1729800
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.