thetaOwl

QQQ

Invesco QQQ TrustClose $746.16EOD only
Max Pain
$740.00
Next expiry Jun 3, 2026
Expected Move
±$5.77
0.8% from close
Price Gap
-6.16
Distance to max pain
IV Rank
65
High premium
P/C OI
1.68
Slightly put-heavy
Consensus
9.0/10
Bullish tilt
Published snapshot: Jun 2, 2026 close
End-of-day snapshot

This page reflects QQQ options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.

Published Snapshot
Jun 2, 2026 close
QQQ Flow Report
Analysis based on market close April 15, 2026

Historical consensus-supported lens with full content, report chain context, and metric rail.

You are viewing an older report from April 15, 2026. A newer flow report is available for May 26, 2026.

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Flow Verdict

BiasBullish
Confirmation: Sustained call-side premium demand around $630 640 into the next session (continued net premium inflows and price holding above the 2d EM upper bound $641.42). A repeat or follow-through of the massive front-week call prints (including the 4/15 QQQ260415C00635000 and 4/16 QQQ260416C00635000) would confirm dealer short-delta and pinning at $635.
Invalidation: Session-level flow flips to material put-dominance (net premium flows turn negative) or price breaks and holds below the 2d EM lower bound $633.38 with follow-through toward $626.96 (1w EM lower). A lack of follow-through on the large call prints and a close below $633.38 would undercut the pin thesis.
Confidence:
8 / 10
base 5; +2 GEX/flow strongly aligned; +1 GEX positive (pinning); -0.5 spot 3.1% from MP; +0.5 VIX 18

Watch next session: Whether call premium demand at $630 640 persists (repeat large prints or increased OI vs todays levels).; Dealer re-hedging response to the 4/15 329k-volume $635 call print: watch intraday stock buying or elevated gamma sensitivity around $635.

Flow Summary

Net premium: +$1.1B bullish

P/C volume ratio: 0.77

P/C OI ratio: 1.53

Bullish: flow is dominated by massive front-week call demand concentrated at $635 (notably the 4/15 QQQ260415C00635000 print Vol=329,355 OI=9,692 and the 4/16 QQQ260416C00635000 Vol=61,064), materially increasing dealer short-delta and reinforcing a pin near $635. Several mid-size tactical put prints (QQQ260417P00632000 Vol=14,670; QQQ260420P00630000 Vol=11,108) look like protective hedges against these call exposures, which will drive dealer hedging that strengthens short-term pinning rather than signaling outright bearish conviction.

Notable Prints

#1
QQQ260415C00635000
Vol: 329,355
OI: 9,692
Vol/OI: 34.0x
IV: 6.0%
Notional: Very large (front-week ITM call block; notional tens of millions)
Intent: Massive directional call accumulation (opening buys) or large-scale call overlay from institutions (buying upside exposure into front expiry).
Dual read: Could be delta replication for institutional exposure or redistribution of existing covered call programs, but the sheer size (329k) strongly implies fresh call exposure and forces dealer short-delta.

Read-through: Primary driver of today's bullish flow and an outsized contributor to GEX; likely to increase dealer stock buying into dips and pin pressure near $635.

#2
QQQ260416C00635000
Vol: 61,064
OI: 559
Vol/OI: 109.2x
IV: 16.9%
Notional: Large (multi-million dollar front-day call demand)
Intent: Aggressive near-expiry directional call buying or topping-up of the same $635 exposure across adjacent expiries.
Dual read: Reinforces the 4/15 print as follow-through opening buys rather than isolated noise.

Read-through: Amplifies short-term dealer hedging needs and cements $635 as a gamma focal point for the next sessions.

#3
QQQ260417P00632000
Vol: 14,670
OI: 297
Vol/OI: 49.4x
IV: 19.3%
Notional: Mid-size (~$3M)
Intent: Tactical near-expiry put buying (protective hedges) against the concentrated call accumulation around $630 635.
Dual read: Consistent with portfolio managers buying insurance after adding upside exposure; not a standalone bearish bet given concurrent call dominance.

Read-through: Increases dealer demand to sell delta or buy stock into weakness, which paradoxically strengthens pinning at front strikes.

#4
QQQ260416C00650000
Vol: 12,703
OI: 252
Vol/OI: 50.4x
IV: 16.8%
Notional: Mid-size (~$2M+)
Intent: Supplementary upside positioning at slightly higher strike ($650) — directional call buying or part of spread structures tied to 4/16 expiries.
Dual read: Could be part of defined spreads (bull call spreads) but volume >> OI suggests at least partial opening directional flow.

Read-through: Shows sellers taking on short-delta farther OTM, increasing cumulative dealer hedging burdens across the front expiries.

#5
QQQ260420P00630000
Vol: 11,108
OI: 215
Vol/OI: 51.7x
IV: 17.1%
Notional: Mid-size (~$2.9M)
Intent: Short-dated protective put buying into the 4/20 expiry (insurance against front-week volatility).
Dual read: Likely risk-management following heavy call prints rather than a new directional put program.

Read-through: Adds to short-term hedging flow and supports the interpretation that put prints are defensive offsets to large call accumulation rather than independent bearish positioning.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Significant front-week call accumulation concentrated at $635 (very large 4/15 Vol=329,355 and follow-through 4/16 Vol=61,064) plus supplemental buys at $630 and $640 across the front expiries — indicates institutional upside exposure concentrated in the $630 640 band.

Put additions: Tactical short-dated puts clustered at $630 635 ($633, $635, $632, $631, $320) and $629 630 across 4/16 620 expiries appear to be hedges against the call buildup; longer-dated structural put OI remains concentrated in $500 600 as portfolio insurance.

GEX/DEX consistency: Stronger consistency than previously stated: the enormous $635 call print materially increases dealer short-delta, aligning with the positive GEX (+$1.0B) and pinning gamma around $630 640; dealers will be more aggressive in delta-hedging which intensifies local pin behavior.

OI clusters: Near-term call OI clusters at $630/$635/$628 are now active focal points with fresh large open interest addition; large put clusters at $570/$540/$590 and concentrated long-dated put OI in $500 600 maintain a structural downside floor and a slowly falling max-pain trend.

Hedging evidence: Compelling: the mix of massive call buys and mid-size near-term put buys is classic institutional overlay + tactical insurance. Expect ongoing dealer hedging (buying stock into dips, selling into rallies) that increases short-term gamma pinning rather than immediate directional reversal.

Max pain context: Max pain for the immediate expiries is below spot ($618 → $625 → $600 across the next three expiries), but current flow and positive GEX are reinforcing a short-term pin near $635–$640; MP is trending lower over expirations, so dealers may manage to keep the front-week pinned while longer-term MP drifts down.

Signal vs Noise

~Very large single-day front-week prints (volume >> OI) are likely fresh directional or hedge buys — not typical quiet inventory adjustments.
~High activity in same-strike calls and matching-strike puts across 4/16–4/17 looks like short-dated hedging around expiries (pin-seeking) rather than a structural change in long-dated positioning.
~Some far-OTM or low-OI strikes (e.g., $680 call IV spike) are likely skew-driven speculative trades or structured leg fills — treat as noise absent multi-leg confirmation.
~Given massive front-week volumes, expect dealer gamma rebalancing (market-maker flows) to amplify intraday moves; that is market structure activity, not necessarily new directional convictions.

Key Conclusions

🐂Front-week flow is call-leaning and meaningful — concentrated buys at $630–$640 underpin a short-term bullish tilt and a pin magnet near $635.
🛡️Tactical put buying at $630–$635 appears defensive (hedging) against the call accumulation; dealers will hedge, increasing pinning forces rather than producing a breakout lower.
⚠️Structural put OI concentrated in $500–$600 remains a downside floor; a sustained break below the 2d EM lower bound $633.38 would be the first operational sign that the bullish pin thesis is failing.
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This flow reflects the market close on April 15, 2026.
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