Data through close

COST max pain, gamma exposure (GEX) & options open interest

As of close · rank #322 by open interest · 1,404 sessions of history since Dec 1, 2020

COST's nearest-expiration max pain is 955.00 for 2026-10-23, its GEX flip is 952.95, net GEX is 11,444,906, its put/call open-interest ratio is 1.00. These are whole-chain derived aggregates as of Oct 16, 2026 close.

COST max pain and GEX snapshot

End-of-day snapshot for . Nearest-expiration max pain uses the expiry shown on its card; GEX uses the whole chain. Missing values are unavailable, not zero.

Nearest-expiration max pain
955.00
-3.4% from close
Expiry: 2026-10-23
GEX flip
952.95
-3.7% from close
Net GEX
11,444,906
4,398,740 per 100k OI
Call wall
1,000.00
+1.1% from close
Put wall
900.00
-9.0% from close
Put/call OI
1.00
129,887 puts / 130,299 calls

Prices are in US dollars per share. Net GEX is modeled dollar-delta change per $1 underlying move. Max pain minimizes aggregate intrinsic payout for that expiration; it is not a closing-price forecast. Signed GEX uses calls positive and puts negative, a model convention rather than observed dealer inventory. The flip is a confirmed zero crossing; walls locate side-specific concentrations, not guaranteed support or resistance.

Learn how to read the max pain payout example, GEX chart, gamma flip and walls, and open interest versus trading volume.

Close
989.11
prev 978.01
Gamma max
1,035.43
+4.7% from close
Delta neutral
931.44
-5.8% from close
Gamma neutral
952.95
-3.7% from close
Open interest
260,186
-14.8% vs prev
Contracts listed
2,203
1,356 calls · 1,088 puts

Advanced options analysis

Public aggregate analysis from the dated chain, normalized where possible for comparison across tickers. Catalyst intensity measures unusual pricing and activity; it does not identify an event, predict direction, or establish that an investment is attractive.

Catalyst intensity
36.5
cross-sectional score / 100
Directional score
-9.1
mixed positioning
IV rank
56.0
within trailing 52-week range
Front IV premium
-0.6 pp
front minus back volatility difference
25Δ risk reversal
0.7 pp
put IV minus call IV
IV butterfly
1.2 pp
front-window smile convexity
Volume / open interest
0.17
52,213 contracts traded
Normalized net delta
0.135
option-holder convention
Modeled dealer delta
-0.131
opposite-side scenario
Vanna / 100k OI
2,700
volatility-sensitive delta
Charm / 100k OI
-3,414,996
time-decay-sensitive delta
IV surface range
131.5 pp
aggregate volatility dispersion

Strongest relative signals: volume/OI 0.17

Download the dated aggregate analysis JSON .

COST closed 4.7% below its gamma max of 1,035.43. It is 5.8% above the delta neutral price of 931.44. Total open interest is 260,186, -14.8% versus the previous session. Its options catalyst-intensity score is 36.5 out of 100, led by volume/OI 0.17. What gamma max means · What delta neutral means

Call versus put open interest changes

Growth compares outstanding contracts on each side. A positive growth gap favors calls; a negative gap favors puts. Standardized surprises compare each measure with its own prior history. These describe the OI balance, not IV skew or buying direction.

COST call and put open interest changes
Measure Value
Call OI change, 1 session -26,602 contracts · -17.0%
Put OI change, 1 session -18,519 contracts · -12.5%
Call minus put OI growth, 1 session -4.5 pp
Call OI change, 5 sessions -15,064 contracts · -10.4%
Put OI change, 5 sessions -233 contracts · -0.2%
Call minus put OI growth, 5 sessions -10.2 pp
Daily call OI change surprise -2.39σ (252 prior changes)
Daily put OI change surprise -1.56σ (252 prior changes)
Daily call-minus-put growth surprise -1.66σ (252 prior changes)

History

2025-10 2026-10
close delta neutral gamma max
Full history since 2020: drag to pan, scroll to zoom, hover for values. Open full-screen chart

Analysis visualizations

Daily ticker aggregates through 2026-10-16. The max pain curve pools all listed expirations; individual contracts are outside the public dataset.

Aggregate IV history

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Swipe chart sideways to see the full range.

What followed prior gamma-max crosses?

Each historical path starts at 0% on the cross date and follows the close for ten subsequent trading sessions. Cohorts use the same direction as labelled and require gamma max to be within 10% of the close on both crossing sessions.

Crosses below gamma max 9 completed Day +10 paths · latest Dec 19, 2023
COST returns after crossing below gamma max Historical close-to-close return paths from Day 0 through Day 10, with the median, middle fifty percent, and a nominal confidence interval for the median. -6.0% -3.0% 0% +3.0% +6.0% Cross on Apr 16, 2021 Cross on May 7, 2021 Cross on Jul 12, 2021 Cross on Aug 6, 2021 Cross on Oct 22, 2021 Cross on Nov 5, 2021 Cross on Dec 13, 2021 Cross on Apr 8, 2022 Cross on Dec 19, 2023 Day 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10
prior crosses middle 50% of outcomes nominal ≥90% median interval median
COST historical gamma-max cross outcomes after closing below
Horizon n Median Middle 50% Above zero Nominal ≥90% median interval Confidence floor
Day +1 9 -0.7% -2.1% to -0.2% 22% -2.5% to +0.2% 0.0%
Day +2 9 +0.3% -1.6% to +0.7% 56% -1.9% to +0.8% 0.0%
Day +3 9 -0.8% -1.5% to +1.0% 44% -1.5% to +1.1% 0.0%
Day +4 9 -0.2% -1.2% to +0.6% 44% -1.6% to +1.3% 0.0%
Day +5 9 +0.7% -1.6% to +1.5% 67% -1.6% to +1.9% 0.0%
Day +6 9 -0.1% -1.0% to +2.0% 44% -2.1% to +2.0% 0.0%
Day +7 9 +0.6% -0.4% to +2.7% 56% -1.4% to +2.9% 0.0%
Day +8 9 -0.3% -1.2% to +2.4% 44% -1.4% to +2.6% 0.0%
Day +9 9 +1.1% -0.2% to +3.3% 67% -4.7% to +3.8% 0.0%
Day +10 9 +1.3% -0.9% to +4.0% 67% -4.3% to +4.4% 0.0%
Crosses above gamma max 9 completed Day +10 paths · latest Dec 18, 2023
COST returns after crossing above gamma max Historical close-to-close return paths from Day 0 through Day 10, with the median, middle fifty percent, and a nominal confidence interval for the median. -8.0% -4.0% 0% +4.0% +8.0% Cross on Apr 15, 2021 Cross on May 6, 2021 Cross on Jul 7, 2021 Cross on Aug 5, 2021 Cross on Oct 21, 2021 Cross on Nov 4, 2021 Cross on Dec 10, 2021 Cross on Apr 7, 2022 Cross on Dec 18, 2023 Day 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10
prior crosses middle 50% of outcomes nominal ≥90% median interval median
COST historical gamma-max cross outcomes after closing above
Horizon n Median Middle 50% Above zero Nominal ≥90% median interval Confidence floor
Day +1 9 -0.3% -0.5% to +0.5% 44% -0.8% to +0.6% 0.0%
Day +2 9 -0.6% -2.4% to +0.2% 33% -3.0% to +1.9% 0.0%
Day +3 9 -0.0% -1.3% to +0.8% 44% -2.4% to +1.2% 0.0%
Day +4 9 -1.1% -2.0% to +0.6% 44% -2.8% to +1.4% 0.0%
Day +5 9 -0.7% -1.0% to +0.7% 44% -2.0% to +1.3% 0.0%
Day +6 9 +0.4% -1.8% to +1.2% 67% -2.1% to +1.8% 0.0%
Day +7 9 +0.3% -2.3% to +1.4% 56% -2.4% to +2.2% 0.0%
Day +8 9 +0.4% -0.7% to +2.2% 67% -1.6% to +2.3% 0.0%
Day +9 9 +0.2% -1.5% to +2.1% 56% -2.7% to +2.9% 0.0%
Day +10 9 +1.3% +0.2% to +2.6% 78% -5.4% to +2.7% 0.0%

Returns are close-to-close after the labelled number of subsequent trading sessions. The confidence floor is the closest-to-zero bound of the order-statistic median interval; it is zero when that interval spans zero. Its coverage is nominally at least 90% under independent observations. Historical paths can overlap, so the interval and floor are descriptive uncertainty guides rather than formal coverage guarantees. Historical, not a forecast.

Last 252 sessions

COST trailing historical statistics
Sessions closed above gamma max 0%
Gamma max crosses 0
Delta neutral crosses 31
Prior-year sessions closer to gamma max 29.0% of 252
Prior-year sessions closer to delta neutral 90.5% of 252
Open interest percentile (1y) 37th
Daily open interest change versus prior year -2.00σ (-45,121 contracts; 252 prior changes)
Open interest change, 5 sessions -5.6%
Open interest change, 21 sessions -20.3%
History available Dec 1, 2020 → Oct 16, 2026

Recent crosses

  1. closed above delta neutral at 922.77 vs 910.35 (+1.3%)
  2. closed below delta neutral at 928.48 vs 935.89 (-0.8%)
  3. closed above delta neutral at 945.47 vs 937.32 (+0.9%)
  4. closed below delta neutral at 934.66 vs 937.80 (-0.3%)
  5. closed above delta neutral at 947.74 vs 935.71 (+1.3%)
  6. closed below delta neutral at 933.51 vs 940.14 (-0.7%)
  7. closed above delta neutral at 935.03 vs 928.57 (+0.7%)
  8. closed below delta neutral at 929.22 vs 930.79 (-0.2%)
  9. closed above delta neutral at 945.57 vs 934.13 (+1.2%)
  10. closed below delta neutral at 912.97 vs 938.86 (-2.8%)

In today's screens

Neighbours by open interest

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Canonical source: https://halfonadouble.com/stock/COST

Questions people ask about COST

What is COST's max pain for the nearest expiration?

As of Oct 16, 2026 close, nearest-expiration max pain is 955.00 for the 2026-10-23 expiration. It is a payout-minimizing strike for one expiration. An all-expiration pooled value is a different comparison, and neither establishes where the underlying will close. Max pain definition and worked payout example.

Our 2025 max-pain study compares historical Thursday levels with Friday underlying closes and an unchanged-price baseline. Its scope and results are separate from this current ticker snapshot.

What do COST's gamma exposure and gamma flip show?

Signed net GEX is 11,444,906 as of Oct 16, 2026 close. The confirmed GEX flip is 952.95. These aggregate model outputs use calls positive and puts negative. Their sign does not identify dealers' actual positions or predict the next move. How to interpret GEX, gamma flip and walls.

Where is COST's gamma max today?

As of Oct 16, 2026, the gamma max for COST is 1,035.43, +4.7% from the 989.11 close. Gamma max is the underlying price at which the summed gamma of every open contract is largest; how it is computed and why it matters.

Is COST above or below its delta neutral price?

COST closed above delta neutral: 989.11 against a delta neutral price of 931.44. The delta neutral price is where the summed delta of the whole chain is zero; the definition.

How much open interest does COST have?

260,186 contracts of open interest across 2,203 listed contracts on Oct 16, 2026, -14.8% versus the previous session. What open interest measures.

Levels are recomputed after every trading day from licensed end-of-day options data; only derived aggregates are published. Methodology · Data and licence · Not investment advice.