thetaOwl

SPY

SPDR S&P 500 ETFClose $686.10EOD only
Max Pain
$674.00
Next expiry Apr 14, 2026
Expected Move
±$3.49
0.5% from close
Price Gap
-12.10
Distance to max pain
IV Rank
15
Low premium
P/C OI
2.25
Slightly put-heavy
Consensus
6.5/10
Bullish tilt
Published snapshot: Apr 13, 2026 close
End-of-day snapshot

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

Published Snapshot
Apr 13, 2026 close
SPY Flow Report
Analysis based on market close April 14, 2026

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

Flow Verdict

BiasNeutral-to-Bullish
Confirmation: Sustained call premium at 690-695 (> $300M/day) with spot holding >$692 and GEX concentrations at $695-$696 remain intact
Invalidation: Net premium flips negative or sustained heavy executed put buying that pushes spot decisively toward max pain ($681) and breaks the 1w EM lower bound $684.68
Confidence:
8.5 / 10
base 9.0; -0.5 mixed flow (P/C OI 2.35 vs call-heavy premium today)

Watch next session: New OI or premium accumulation at $695/$696 calls (near-term pin levels); Large executed put flow at $670-$680 that increases P/C premium or moves net premium toward neutral/negative

Flow Summary

Net premium: +$1.2B bullish

P/C volume ratio: 1.14 — small put-volume skew intraday but not extreme

P/C OI ratio: 2.35 — substantial put-heavy positioning in OI (structural bearish tilt in longer-dated strikes)

Today’s intraday premium flow is dominated by concentrated call premium at the 690-695 band (large net call dollars), pushing spot above max-pain and into dealer pin territory. However, the broader position landscape (P/C OI 2.35 and large put OI clusters far below spot) keeps the structural positioning mixed — dealers carry positive GEX ($+1.6B) that favors pinning around ~$695, while long-dated institutional puts maintain downside protection below the current market.

Notable Prints

#1
SPY 2026-04-14 692.00 Call
Vol: 476,849
OI: 4,443
Vol/OI: 107.3x
IV: 0.0%
Notional: ~$101M
Intent: Aggressive short-dated directional call buying / delta accumulation into expiry
Dual read: Could be long call buyers (bullish) or dealers selling calls and hedging with stock (neutral/delta-driven)

Read-through: Large executed flow at the 692 call (ITM at spot) materially increases short-dated call exposure and forces dealers to buy delta — supports upside and short-term pin toward the 690-695 GEX cluster.

#2
SPY 2026-04-14 694.00 Call
Vol: 664,847
OI: 2,811
Vol/OI: 236.5x
IV: 0.0%
Notional: ~$12.6M
Intent: High-frequency opening/closing at-the-money calls into same-day expiry — gamma/growth trades
Dual read: Either fresh call buying (bullish) or expirational overwriting/close-outs (neutral)

Read-through: Massive same-day call volume concentrated ATM amplifies dealer short-gamma; combined with positive GEX this increases pinning forces around $694-$695 intraday.

#3
SPY 2026-04-14 690.00 Put
Vol: 502,462
OI: 645
Vol/OI: 779.0x
IV: 6.3%
Notional: ~$1.0M
Intent: Large activity at a deep expiring OTM put strikes — likely aggressive short-dated trades (expirational selling or buy/sell flips)
Dual read: Could be put buyers (tail protection) or sellers/closing sellers (neutral/liq providing)

Read-through: Given the tiny last prices ($0.01-$0.02) and low IV, this looks like high-frequency expirational flow, increasing short-dated gamma exposures rather than building meaningful directional put protection.

#4
SPY 2026-04-15 690.00 Put
Vol: 108,848
OI: 429
Vol/OI: 253.7x
IV: 11.5%
Notional: ~$8.2M
Intent: Near-term put buying into tomorrow’s expiry (protective or directional)
Dual read: Protective puts (bearish hedge) or short-dated speculative puts (directional bearish)

Read-through: This print is more meaningful notional-wise vs the 4/14 tiny-last-price prints — if that flow continues it could represent real short-term downside hedging that would cap the upside pin.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Concentrated call premium and flow at $690-$695 (notably $690/$691/$692/$694) in near-term expirations — dealers are short gamma there and will buy delta into upside moves.

Put additions: Large structural put OI sits well below spot (notably $535, $520, $530, $590, $500 clusters) plus heavy premium at $650 puts (net -$37.35M), indicating institutions hold sizeable protective/long-put positions at lower strikes.

GEX/DEX consistency: Yes — positive GEX ($+1.6B) and DEX +294.8M shares are consistent with short-dated call dominance and pinning around $695; long-dated put OI creates a structural downside hedge but not immediate dealer-driven pressure.

OI clusters: Largest OI clusters are concentrated far below spot (e.g., $535 PUT OI=204,057; $520 PUT OI=202,356; $530 PUT OI=164,343) and near-spot call OI clusters at $686-$690-$695 (calls OI: $686=27,247; $690=20,332; $695=10,269). The nearest prominent pin/wall is the GEX concentration at $695 (+$413.0M).

Hedging evidence: Evidence of large-scale protective puts in longer expirations (OI mass at $500-$535-$650) and put premium at $650 suggests institutional downside hedging; limited evidence of widespread collars in the near-term aside from small protective put prints.

Max pain context: Max pain sits at $681 (flat across expirations). Spot is above MP by ~2% and flow shows dealer pinning forces (GEX) trying to hold spot up near ~$695 rather than drifting down to MP immediately.

Signal vs Noise

~Many 4/14 same-day prints at $689-$694 with huge volume but tiny last prices (e.g., $0.01-$0.02) — likely expirational flow and market-maker/intermediary activity, not durable directional conviction.
~Large long-dated put OI clusters (e.g., $535, $520) are structural positioning and not evidence of immediate delta-driven selling.
~High vol/OI ratios on same-day strikes reflect expiry gamma trades and closing/opening churn — treat these as dealer inventory adjustments unless repeated on adjacent expiries.
~The notable negative net at $650 (call $9.52M / put $46.88M => net -$37.35M) is premium-driven put buying in that strike bucket (hedging), not a near-term directional signal toward that strike.

Key Conclusions

🐂Short-dated call dominance at 690-695 is creating a near-term upside pin — dealers are short gamma and buying delta into intraday lifts.
⚖️Structure is mixed: huge long-dated put OI below spot keeps longer-term downside protection in place despite bullish net premium today.
📌GEX concentrations (+$413.0M at $695, +$26.6M at $696, +$20.2M at $690) create a measurable pin magnet within the 1d EM bounds ($690.75-$698.18).
🚨Treat massive same-day low-premium prints (4/14 expiries) as expirational gamma trades/market-maker flows — they amplify short-term dealer positioning but are not durable directional positioning.
👀Watch for continued premium accumulation at $695/$696 calls or a shift to executed put flow at $670-$680 — either will quickly confirm upside pinning or a reversion toward max pain ($681).

Read the Flow analysis for SPY for 2026-04-14. Each report is a market-close snapshot with regime read, key levels, and strategy context that translates options positioning into an actionable setup.