OPEN Flow Report

Analysis based on market close March 31, 2026

Flow Verdict

Confidence:

4.5 / 10

base 5; -1.5 bearish shift in flow (net prem -$109K, P/C 0.25 vs prior 0.20); +1 GEX/flow aligned (pinning regime); -0 high IV (103%) remains a headwind

Watch next session: $4.00 put OI for increase from 38,977; Spot action vs. $4.50 (near-term max pain); Any large call block prints >$5.00

Flow Summary

Net premium: -$109K bearish

P/C volume ratio: 0.25 — call-dominant but less extreme

P/C OI ratio: 0.36 — moderate call lean

Flow has shifted notably from the prior day's extreme bullishness. While call volume still dominates, net premium has flipped negative, indicating the aggressive call buying has subsided and put activity (or call selling) is now the premium driver. The market is in a pinning regime with spot below max pain, suggesting gravity toward $4.50-$5.00.

Notable Prints

OPEN 5/1 $4.00 Put

Vol: 209

OI: 31

Vol/OI: 6.7x

IV: 87.1%

Notional: ~$8.4K

Intent: New protective put or directional bearish bet

Dual read: Bought (bearish/hedge) or sold (bullish/income)

Read-through: The 6.7x volume/OI ratio indicates fresh positioning. With spot at $4.48, this is a near-ATM put for May expiration. Given the negative net premium environment and the massive existing $4.00 put wall, the most likely read is an addition of downside protection or a bearish bet targeting a break below the key $4.00 support level. The IV of 87.1% is below the term structure average, suggesting it may have been bought.

OPEN 4/17 $3.50 Put

Vol: 235

OI: 131

Vol/OI: 1.8x

IV: 95.3%

Notional: ~$8.2K

Intent: OTM hedge or speculative put buy

Dual read: Bought (tail hedge) or sold (income)

Read-through: This is a put $1.00 below spot (~22% OTM) for mid-April. The volume adds to existing OI. The elevated IV (95.3%) suggests optionality is expensive. In the context of negative net premium, this is likely a purchase for protection against a sharper drop below the $4.00 wall, defining a lower risk boundary around $3.50.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Minimal in today's flow. Prior $4.50/$5.00 call positioning remains but is not being aggressively added to.

Put additions: $4.00 and $3.50 puts for April/May expiries, aligning with the large existing $4.00 put wall.

GEX/DEX consistency: Yes — Positive GEX (+$3.7M) indicates a pinning/mean-reverting regime. This aligns with the flow cooling off and spot ($4.48) trading between the gamma flip (~$4.00) and near-term max pain ($4.50-$5.00). The market is being pinned, not trending.

OI clusters: $4.00 Put (38,977 OI - critical support), $7.00 Call (33K+ OI - long-term magnet), $1.50 Call (49,508 OI - legacy). The $4.00 put cluster is the dominant near-term structure, creating a major support and potential pin.

Hedging evidence: The $4.00 put wall is the paramount hedging structure. Today's flow adds to this theme with new puts at $4.00 and further OTM at $3.50, suggesting institutions are layering in or renewing downside protection, not abandoning it.

Max pain context: Spot ($4.48) is now just below the 4/2 max pain of $4.50 and 10.3% below the 3/27 MP of $5.00. The falling MP trend remains intact, indicating longer-dated positioning continues to lean bearish, pulling pin levels lower over time.

Signal vs Noise

~The large negative net premium at the $10.00 strike (-$250K) is almost certainly a spread leg (e.g., a call credit spread) given the enormous $10.00 call OI (25,878), not a standalone bearish bet.

~High premium in far OTM calls ($1.00, $0.50, $1.50) is from low-priced, high-IV lottery tickets with minimal notional impact. This is speculative noise, not institutional flow.

~The low volume (33,824) relative to total OI (822,328) indicates a day of positioning adjustment, not a major new directional onslaught. The two unusual prints, while notable, have a combined notional of only ~$16.6K.

Key Conclusions

🔄Flow regime shifted from extremely bullish to mixed/negative premium, signaling a loss of bullish momentum

📌Market in pinning regime (positive GEX); spot gravitating between $4.00 support and $4.50-$5.00 resistance

🛡️$4.00 put wall (38,977 OI) remains the critical downside level; new put flow reinforces its importance

📉Falling max pain trend ($5 → $2) contradicts any sustained bullish thesis, favoring lower price consolidation

Read the Flow analysis for OPEN. This AI-generated report covers regime classification, key price levels, strategy recommendations, and actionable trade ideas drawn from end-of-day options data including gamma exposure, delta exposure, and implied volatility.