What is the max pain price for MERC?

As of the latest delayed data, MERC's max pain for the Fri, Nov 20 expiration is 1, versus a spot price of 0.14 (+639.6% away). It recomputes as open interest shifts.

What are the MERC call and put walls?

For Fri, Nov 20, the largest call open interest sits at the 1 strike and the largest put open interest at 0.5.

Is max pain a price prediction?

No. It is a positioning snapshot — the settle price that would minimize option writers’ payout. The theory that prices drift toward it is contested, and nothing on this page is investment advice.

Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 25, 11:03 PM ET

MERC max pain

Spot (delayed)$0.14

Max pain · Fri, Nov 20$1+639.6% vs spot

Expected move (ATM straddle)±$0.39±288.5% by Fri, Nov 20

Put/Call OI0.1541 puts / 277 calls

Call wall$1largest call OI

Put wall$0.5largest put OI

IV30122.6%30-day implied vol

Net GEX+$1per 1% move

Fri, Nov 201 Fri, Dec 182 Fri, Feb 191 Fri, May 211.5

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

Max pain levels

Expiry	Max pain	vs spot	DTE
Fri, Nov 20	$1	+639.6%	25d
Fri, Dec 18	$2	+1379.3%	53d
Fri, Feb 19	$1	+639.6%	116d
Fri, May 21	$1.5	+1009.5%	207d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

■ 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 — 1 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Nov 20

■ calls (up)■ puts (down)MERC open contracts per strike for Fri, Nov 20.

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, Nov 20

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

Greeks by strike · Fri, Nov 20

Call Δ	Call Θ	Strike	Γ	Vega	Put Θ	Put Δ
0.04	0.00	0.5	0.9163	—	0.00	-0.98
0.01	—	1	0.2492	—	—	-1.00
0.01	—	1.5	0.1213	—	—	-1.00
0.00	—	2	0.0737	—	—	-1.00
0.00	—	3	0.0370	—	—	-1.00
0.00	—	4	0.0228	—	—	-1.00

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

Nov 20Dec 18Feb 19May 21

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

■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 4K call contracts, 28K 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: MERC workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk