This page reflects MD 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 — MD
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $25.00 (1.56 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$25.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$2.43
±9.1%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
3,199
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
3,176
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.99
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$26.56
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
2026-06-18
$22.50
6/18/2026, 11:22:06 PM
2026-07-17
$25.00
7/17/2026, 11:23:10 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$25.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:23 PM
2026-09-18
$25.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:23 PM
2026-11-20
$20.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:23 PM
2027-02-19
$25.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:23 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $25.00.
MD pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
2.5
0
5712500
5712500
5
750
4918500
4919250
7.5
1750
4174250
4176000
10
2750
3441500
3444250
12.5
3750
2712750
2716500
15
17250
1985250
2002500
17.5
31000
1261000
1292000
20
45750
540000
585750
22.5
63250
219750
283000
25
93250
0
93250
30
258250
0
258250
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.