This page reflects PAY options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
May 20, 2026 close
Max Pain — PAY
Data as of market close May 20, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-06-18 shows max pain at $25.00 (0.57 above 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
±$2.68
±10.9%
Days to Expiry
29
Calendar days
Total Call OI
524
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
196
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.37
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$24.43
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-06-18
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-04-17
$24.00
4/17/2026, 11:23:50 PM
2026-05-15
$25.00
5/15/2026, 11:33:47 PM
2026-06-18NextUpdated
$25.00
5/20/2026, 11:25:07 PM
2026-09-18
$24.00
5/20/2026, 11:25:07 PM
2026-12-18
$18.00
5/20/2026, 11:25:07 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-06-18 at max pain $25.00.
PAY pain by strike for 2026-06-18 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
15
0
220600
220600
20
500
123100
123600
21
700
103600
104300
22
900
86100
87000
23
1100
68600
69700
24
1400
53800
55200
25
3600
39700
43300
26
19300
31400
50700
27
35100
25200
60300
28
52800
21700
74500
29
71900
19100
91000
30
92300
16500
108800
31
135000
14300
149300
32
177900
12200
190100
33
221800
10200
232000
34
268200
8200
276400
35
314600
6200
320800
36
361000
4600
365600
37
407400
3100
410500
38
454500
2000
456500
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.