This page reflects SLM options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Oct 2, 2026 close
Max Pain — SLM
Data as of market close Oct 2, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-10-16 shows max pain at $20.00 (2.75 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$20.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$5.12
±22.5%
Days to Expiry
14
Calendar days
Total Call OI
3,268
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
1,916
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.59
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$22.75
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-10-16
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-08-21
$26.00
8/21/2026, 11:27:05 PM
2026-09-18
$25.00
9/18/2026, 11:29:13 PM
2026-10-16NextUpdated
$20.00
10/2/2026, 11:27:23 PM
2026-11-20
$25.00
10/2/2026, 11:27:23 PM
2027-01-15
$23.00
10/2/2026, 11:27:23 PM
2027-04-16
$18.00
10/2/2026, 11:27:23 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-10-16 at max pain $20.00.
SLM pain by strike for 2026-10-16 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
1
0
3813300
3813300
2
0
3622000
3622000
3
0
3430700
3430700
4
0
3239400
3239400
5
0
3048100
3048100
6
0
2856800
2856800
7
0
2665500
2665500
8
0
2474200
2474200
11
0
1900300
1900300
12
0
1709000
1709000
13
400
1517700
1518100
14
800
1331400
1332200
15
1200
1157600
1158800
16
3300
989300
992600
17
5400
823200
828600
18
7500
657100
664600
19
9600
493900
503500
20
11700
331700
343400
21
263900
190700
454600
22
516100
51500
567600
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.