This page reflects STM 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 — STM
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $53.00 (0.73 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$53.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$2.45
±4.7%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
69,293
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
28,732
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.41
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$52.27
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
2026-08-07
$50.00
8/7/2026, 11:35:07 PM
2026-08-14
$53.00
8/14/2026, 11:35:14 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$53.00
8/18/2026, 11:41:39 PM
2026-08-28
$54.00
8/18/2026, 11:41:39 PM
2026-09-04
$52.00
8/18/2026, 11:41:39 PM
2026-09-11
$52.00
8/18/2026, 11:41:39 PM
2026-09-18
$55.00
8/18/2026, 11:41:39 PM
2026-09-25
$50.00
8/18/2026, 11:41:39 PM
2026-10-16
$60.00
8/18/2026, 11:41:39 PM
2026-11-20
$45.00
8/18/2026, 11:41:39 PM
2027-01-15
$55.00
8/18/2026, 11:41:39 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $53.00.
STM pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
13
0
103222500
103222500
15
10200
97476100
97486300
16
16800
94602900
94619700
17
23800
91729700
91753500
18
31600
88856900
88888500
19
40000
85984100
86024100
20
48400
83111300
83159700
21
58500
80269500
80328000
22
69000
77429000
77498000
23
82200
74588500
74670700
24
95400
71777900
71873300
25
117900
68968900
69086800
26
158900
66178200
66337100
27
201500
63392400
63593900
28
252500
60623500
60876000
29
304800
57861100
58165900
30
361100
55104500
55465600
31
424600
52373600
52798200
32
490400
49665400
50155800
33
583100
46967600
47550700
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.