This page reflects MRK 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 — MRK
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $125.00 (10.17 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$125.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$2.80
±2.1%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
34,140
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
23,791
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.70
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$135.17
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
$128.00
8/7/2026, 11:26:40 PM
2026-08-14
$129.00
8/14/2026, 11:20:15 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$125.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:43 PM
2026-08-28
$131.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:43 PM
2026-09-04
$130.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:43 PM
2026-09-11
$131.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:43 PM
2026-09-18
$105.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:43 PM
2026-09-25
$128.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:43 PM
2026-10-02
$125.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:43 PM
2026-10-16
$120.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:43 PM
2026-11-20
$130.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:43 PM
2026-12-18
$105.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:43 PM
2027-01-15
$105.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:43 PM
2027-03-19
$115.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:43 PM
2027-06-17
$90.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:43 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $125.00.
MRK pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
60
0
138631400
138631400
65
0
126735900
126735900
70
0
114846400
114846400
75
0
102957400
102957400
80
0
91069900
91069900
85
1000
79188900
79189900
90
2000
67322900
67324900
95
18500
55473900
55492400
100
37500
43869900
43907400
105
64500
33575400
33639900
110
97500
23947400
24044900
114
392300
17339800
17732100
115
466100
15687900
16154000
117
675700
12633500
13309200
118
780900
11121300
11902200
119
887800
9842000
10729800
120
996300
8565700
9562000
121
1196800
7596000
8792800
122
1397400
6662100
8059500
123
1600600
5785500
7386100
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.