Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Nov 6, 4:23 PM ET

KVUE max pain

Spot (delayed)$19.31
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe delayed quote, underlying price
Fieldcurrent_price
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 6, 4:23 PM ET
HowAbout 15 minutes delayed.
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Max pain · Fri, Feb 19$19
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceMax pain from Cboe open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 6, 4:23 PM ET
HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2027-02-19 expiration, over 11 strikes carrying 2,644 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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-1.6% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$1.85
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceAt-the-money straddle midpoint
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 6, 4:23 PM ET
HowCall midpoint plus put midpoint at the strike nearest spot for the 2027-02-19 expiration = 1.85 USD, 9.6% of 19.31 spot.
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±9.6% by Fri, Feb 19
Put/Call OI1.30
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 6, 4:23 PM ET
How1,493 put contracts / 1,151 call contracts = 1.30 for the 2027-02-19 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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1K puts / 1K calls
Call wall$20
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 6, 4:23 PM ET
How20.00 for the 2027-02-19 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest call OI
Put wall$15
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most put open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 6, 4:23 PM ET
How15.00 for the 2027-02-19 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest put OI

Event risk before this expiration: 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, Nov 13$19-1.6%5d
Fri, Nov 20$18-6.8%12d
Fri, Nov 27$19-1.6%19d
Fri, Dec 4one strike decides26d
Fri, Dec 11$18-6.8%33d
Fri, Dec 18one strike decides40d
Fri, Jan 15$18-6.8%68d
Fri, Feb 19$19-1.6%103d
Fri, Mar 19one strike decides131d
Fri, May 21$18-6.8%194d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot19141618202224$1M$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 — 19 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Feb 19

spot19141618202224685685
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)KVUE 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

Greeks by strike · Fri, Feb 19

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
not quotednot quoted14not quotednot quotednot quotednot quoted
not quotednot quoted15not quotednot quotednot quotednot quoted
not quotednot quoted16not quotednot quotednot quotednot quoted
not quotednot quoted17not quotednot quotednot quotednot quoted
not quotednot quoted18not quotednot quotednot quotednot quoted
not quotednot quoted19not quotednot quotednot quotednot quoted
not quotednot quoted20not quotednot quotednot quotednot quoted
not quotednot quoted21not quotednot quotednot quotednot quoted
not quotednot quoted22not quotednot quotednot quotednot quoted
not quotednot quoted23not quotednot quotednot quotednot quoted
not quotednot quoted24not quotednot quotednot quotednot quoted

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot151718.519.520.5225K0
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

spot312.51619.5232822K22K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 89K call contracts, 45K 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.

Max pain, walls and gamma print only when an expiration holds at least 100 open contracts across 5 strikes, and max pain also needs to stay within 5% of spot when its single heaviest strike is removed. Below that the expiration reads as thin rather than printing a level one trade could move.

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