This page reflects VRDN 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 — VRDN
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $19.00 (4.93 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$19.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$1.57
±6.6%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
1,537
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
905
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.59
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$23.93
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
2026-06-18
$17.00
6/18/2026, 11:38:23 PM
2026-07-17
$17.00
7/17/2026, 11:41:25 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$19.00
8/18/2026, 11:36:34 PM
2026-09-18
$21.00
8/18/2026, 11:36:34 PM
2026-10-16
$20.00
8/18/2026, 11:36:34 PM
2027-01-15
$13.00
8/18/2026, 11:36:34 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $19.00.
VRDN pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
8
0
843000
843000
10
0
662000
662000
12
0
496000
496000
13
100
413200
413300
14
200
330500
330700
15
2400
248500
250900
16
5200
168500
173700
17
8000
92400
100400
18
11700
40400
52100
19
18900
20700
39600
20
56200
2300
58500
21
121100
1500
122600
22
196000
800
196800
23
273800
100
273900
24
357000
0
357000
25
441000
0
441000
28
703200
0
703200
30
878200
0
878200
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.