Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 27, 4:13 PM ET

AXTI max pain

Spot (delayed)$56.65
Max pain · Fri, Feb 19$45-20.6% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$25±44.1% by Fri, Feb 19
Put/Call OI0.215K puts / 23K calls
Call wall$45largest call OI
Put wall$45largest put OI
IV30112.8%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$499Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $45

Event risk before this expiration: FOMC decision Wed, Oct 28 · Jobs report Fri, Nov 6 · CPI release Tue, Nov 10 · Jobs report Fri, Dec 4 · FOMC decision Wed, Dec 9 · CPI release Thu, Dec 10 — macro releases historically overwhelm pinning effects; max pain reads weakest in event weeks.

Max pain levels

ExpiryMax painvs spotDTE
Fri, Oct 30$60+5.9%3d
Fri, Nov 6$65+14.7%10d
Fri, Nov 13$63+11.2%17d
Fri, Nov 20$60+5.9%24d
Fri, Nov 27$70+23.6%31d
Fri, Dec 4$54-4.7%38d
Fri, Dec 18$60+5.9%52d
Fri, Jan 15$70+23.6%80d
Fri, Feb 19$45-20.6%115d
Fri, Mar 19$65+14.7%143d
Fri, Apr 16$55-2.9%171d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot4520457095120145$122M$0
■ put-side pain■ call-side painTotal payout option writers would owe at each settle price (both sides, all open interest, ×100 shares) — low settles hurt put writers, high settles hurt call writers. The minimum — 45 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Feb 19

spot45204065901151404K4K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)AXTI open contracts per strike for Fri, Feb 19.

Open-interest change: building vs unwinding

Needs two observed snapshot days for this expiration; the comparison appears automatically once the next weekday snapshot lands. We diff real observations only; nothing is estimated.

Volume by strike · Fri, Feb 19

spot45204065901151402222
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Feb 19

spot20457095120145118%92%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 101.6% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Feb 19

spotflip 4520406590115140+$103K−$103K
Net dealer gamma per strike, in dollars per 1% move, assuming the standard convention (dealers long calls, short puts) — an assumption, not an observation. Above the amber flip level hedging tends to dampen moves; below it, to amplify them.

Greeks by strike · Fri, Feb 19

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.96-0.0122.50.00230.03-0.01-0.04
0.95-0.01250.00290.03-0.02-0.05
0.91-0.02300.00450.05-0.02-0.09
0.87-0.03350.00630.07-0.03-0.13
0.82-0.04400.00800.08-0.04-0.18
0.76-0.04450.00950.10-0.04-0.24
0.70-0.05500.01060.11-0.05-0.30
0.64-0.05550.01150.12-0.05-0.36
0.58-0.05600.01200.12-0.05-0.42
0.53-0.05650.01220.13-0.05-0.47
0.48-0.06700.01220.13-0.05-0.53
0.43-0.05750.01200.13-0.05-0.57
0.39-0.05800.01160.12-0.05-0.62
0.35-0.05850.01120.12-0.05-0.66
0.32-0.05900.01070.11-0.05-0.69

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 15 strikes around the money — all 27 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot3051617181914K0
Call open interest per strike, stacked across the checked expirations — each color is one expiry. Strikes are pruned to the liquid center of each chain.

All expirations combined — total open interest

spot2054647812016519K19K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 152K call contracts, 99K put contracts open.

Reading this honestly

Max pain is arithmetic, not prophecy: the settle price that would minimize what option writers pay out at expiration, computed from open interest alone. Prices sometimes gravitate toward heavy strikes into expiry — dealer hedging is a real flow — but the evidence that max pain predicts settlement better than chance is mixed, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Use it as a map of where positioning is stacked, next to the fundamentals and the earnings calendar, not as a target.

Data: Cboe delayed public feed (~15 minutes), refreshed here about every 15 minutes. Open interest itself updates once daily, before the open. Educational information, not investment advice.

Keep going: AXTI workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk