This page reflects PPL 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 — PPL
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $36.00 (0.38 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
±$0.70
±2.0%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
14,547
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
1,047
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.07
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$35.62
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
8/18/2026, 11:34:50 PM
2026-09-18
$36.00
8/18/2026, 11:34:50 PM
2026-10-16
$36.00
8/18/2026, 11:34:50 PM
2027-01-15
$33.00
8/18/2026, 11:34:50 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
684600
684600
29
0
581400
581400
30
100
479500
479600
31
200
378700
378900
32
300
286300
286600
33
400
198600
199000
34
700
112300
113000
35
3100
30500
33600
36
22100
0
22100
37
68500
0
68500
38
1026800
0
1026800
39
2270200
0
2270200
40
3675200
0
3675200
41
5116000
0
5116000
42
6557000
0
6557000
43
7998500
0
7998500
44
9442700
0
9442700
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.