This page reflects NOC 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 — NOC
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $545.00 (44.14 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$545.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$10.75
±1.8%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
4,290
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
4,245
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.99
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$589.14
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
$550.00
6/18/2026, 11:23:35 PM
2026-07-17
$515.00
7/17/2026, 11:26:43 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$545.00
8/18/2026, 11:26:44 PM
2026-09-18
$550.00
8/18/2026, 11:26:44 PM
2026-11-20
$540.00
8/18/2026, 11:26:44 PM
2026-12-18
$550.00
8/18/2026, 11:26:44 PM
2027-01-15
$550.00
8/18/2026, 11:26:44 PM
2027-02-19
$525.00
8/18/2026, 11:26:44 PM
2027-03-19
$580.00
8/18/2026, 11:26:44 PM
2027-06-17
$500.00
8/18/2026, 11:26:44 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $545.00.
NOC pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
390
0
44701500
44701500
395
0
42621000
42621000
400
500
40565500
40566000
405
2500
38517500
38520000
410
6000
36471500
36477500
415
10500
34455000
34465500
420
16500
32440000
32456500
425
24000
30437000
30461000
430
32000
28440500
28472500
435
40000
26460500
26500500
440
48000
24486000
24534000
445
56000
22550500
22606500
450
65500
20619000
20684500
455
87500
19216000
19303500
460
111500
17836000
17947500
465
137000
16507000
16644000
470
163000
15203000
15366000
475
211000
14004500
14215500
480
259500
12833000
13092500
485
311500
11709500
12021000
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.