thetaOwl

SPY

SPDR S&P 500 ETFClose $733.73EOD only
Max Pain
$739.00
Next expiry May 20, 2026
Expected Move
±$5.46
0.7% from close
Price Gap
+5.27
Distance to max pain
IV Rank
15
Low premium
P/C OI
2.46
Slightly put-heavy
Consensus
6.0/10
Bearish tilt
Published snapshot: May 19, 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
May 19, 2026 close
SPY Flow Report
Analysis based on market close May 19, 2026

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

You are viewing an older report from May 19, 2026. A newer flow report is available for May 20, 2026.

View latest report

Flow Verdict

BiasBearish
Confirmation: Put volume remains elevated; spot holds below gamma flip.
Invalidation: Spot rallies above $735 with call volume surge.
Confidence:
8.5 / 10
base 5; +2 GEX/flow strongly aligned; +1 spot 0.4% from MP; +0.5 VIX 18

Watch next session: Monitor put/call volume ratio; Watch VIX trend

Flow Summary

Net premium: -$73.4M bearish

P/C volume ratio: 1.19

P/C OI ratio: 2.46

Heavy put buying and negative GEX dominate, signaling near-term downside bias. Unusual call volume in OTM strikes suggests speculative upside hedges, but net premium flow favors puts. Market awaits catalyst.

Notable Prints

#1
SPY 2026-05-19 $734.00 Call
Vol: 393,446
OI: 1,656
Vol/OI: 237.6x
IV: 1.4%
Notional: ~$3.9M
Intent: Aggressive call buying
Dual read: Speculative or gamma hedge

Read-through: Bullish bias but limited

#2
SPY 2026-05-19 $733.00 Call
Vol: 271,693
OI: 1,290
Vol/OI: 210.6x
IV: 0.0%
Notional: ~$17.9M
Intent: Heavy volume call accumulation
Dual read: Possibly hedging put position

Read-through: Price likely to rise

#3
SPY 2026-05-20 $734.00 Call
Vol: 60,564
OI: 399
Vol/OI: 151.8x
IV: 12.5%
Notional: ~$15.5M
Intent: Unclear flow intent

Read-through: Needs contextual interpretation.

#4
SPY 2026-05-19 $736.00 Call
Vol: 510,180
OI: 3,378
Vol/OI: 151.0x
IV: 2.9%
Notional: ~$510K
Intent: Lottery ticket buying
Dual read: Could be short squeeze speculation

Read-through: Low probability high payoff

#5
SPY 2026-05-19 $733.00 Put
Vol: 473,037
OI: 4,440
Vol/OI: 106.5x
IV: 2.3%
Notional: ~$3.8M
Intent: Unclear flow intent

Read-through: Needs contextual interpretation.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Heavy OTM call buying near expiry, likely noise.

Put additions: Elevated put flow; net premium negative; institutional hedging.

GEX/DEX consistency: Negative GEX (-$1.2B) and positive DEX (+289M) align with trending gamma.

OI clusters: Massive put OI ~215k 27.8% below spot; potential support.

Hedging evidence: Puts dominate flow; collars likely.

Max pain context: Spot at MP; pin action expected.

Signal vs Noise

~High put/call ratios signal real hedging.
~Unusual prints with extreme vol/oi ratios are expiration noise.
~Negative net premium and GEX confirm institutional put demand.

Key Conclusions

🛡️Institutions are hedging downside with puts.
⚠️Dealers short gamma; potential volatility.
🎯Large put OI cluster below spot acts as magnet.
How to Use These Reports
This flow reflects the market close on May 19, 2026.
What the reports do

Each report translates the same market-close options snapshot into a specific lens such as directional bias, premium-selling posture, flow quality, or earnings setup.

How traders use them

Reports are most useful for narrowing the playbook, surfacing entry and risk context, and deciding which raw data page to inspect next.

What to remember

These are interpretation layers, not execution guarantees. Validate the setup against chain liquidity, expected move, and exposure before sizing risk.

If the report conviction and the raw data disagree, slow down and resolve the mismatch before sizing risk.