This page reflects PPL options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 19, 2026 close
Max Pain — PPL
Data as of market close Aug 19, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $36.00 (0.51 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$36.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.73
±2.0%
Days to Expiry
2
Calendar days
Total Call OI
14,524
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
3,066
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.21
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$35.49
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
$35.00
6/18/2026, 11:24:58 PM
2026-07-17
$34.00
7/17/2026, 11:28:26 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$36.00
8/19/2026, 11:32:19 PM
2026-09-18
$36.00
8/19/2026, 11:32:19 PM
2026-10-16
$36.00
8/19/2026, 11:32:19 PM
2027-01-15
$33.00
8/19/2026, 11:32:19 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $36.00.
PPL pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
28
0
2300800
2300800
29
0
1995700
1995700
30
100
1691900
1692000
31
200
1389200
1389400
32
300
1094900
1095200
33
400
805300
805700
34
700
517100
517800
35
3100
233100
236200
36
21600
0
21600
37
67900
0
67900
38
1024700
0
1024700
39
2266600
0
2266600
40
3669300
0
3669300
41
5107800
0
5107800
42
6546500
0
6546500
43
7985700
0
7985700
44
9427600
0
9427600
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.