Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 28, 6:36 AM ET

PRDO max pain

Spot (delayed)$32.23
Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$30-6.9% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$6.3±19.5% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.196 puts / 31 calls
Call wall$35largest call OI
Put wall$30largest put OI
IV3037.0%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$1Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $35

Event risk before this expiration: 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, Nov 20$30-6.9%23d
Fri, Dec 18$35+8.6%51d
Fri, Jan 15$35+8.6%79d
Fri, Apr 16$30-6.9%170d
Fri, May 21$35+8.6%205d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot30232732364145$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 — 30 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot3022.525303540451313
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)PRDO open contracts per strike for Fri, Apr 16.

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, Apr 16

spot3022.5253035404588
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot23273236414537%31%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 35.3% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 3522.52530354045+$606−$606
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, Apr 16

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.93-0.0022.50.01520.03-0.00-0.07
0.87-0.00250.02450.05-0.01-0.13
0.69-0.01300.04570.08-0.01-0.32
0.43-0.01350.05360.09-0.01-0.59
0.21-0.01400.04120.06-0.00-0.83
0.09-0.00450.02290.04—-0.96

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

spot22.525303540454160
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

spot17.522.5304050429429
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 532 call contracts, 432 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: PRDO workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk