SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Strategies & Market Trends : Nasdaq 100 Analysis
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
To: Steve Lee who started this subject4/23/2002 5:56:58 PM
From: Steve Lee  Read Replies (2) of 238
 
Does "Max Pain" work?

The theory says that in the week leading up to options expiry, stocks will tend to the price at which the options writers will be called or put for the least amount of money. Some call this price point "max pain". The theory also suggest that once expiry is over, the price will move away from max pain back towards the area it was in before max pain.

I wanted to get some clues if it worked or not. The following table represents the max pain for the top 15 NDX stocks and the closing prices for each day of expiry week, plus the Monday following expiry.


Ticker  Pain     Mon    Tue    Wed    Thu    Fri    Mon 

MSFT    60.0     55.69  57.81  56.63  56.37  57.31  55.59
INTC    30.0     28.11  29.51  30.64  30.45  30.10  30.06
CSCO    15.0     15.01  15.58  15.97  15.44  15.26  14.87
QCOM    40.0     36.20  39.62  39.80  38.40  37.26  35.03
AMGN    60.0     56.85  57.75  56.44  57.52  56.82  56.02

ORCL    12.5     11.30  12.06  11.78  11.65  11.93  11.43
DELL    27.5     25.87  27.21  27.32  27.20  27.34  27.15
MXIM    55.0     54.67  56.80  56.93  55.83  54.92  54.15
AMAT    ***
IMNX    30.0     28.92  29.45  28.90  29.44  28.90  28.51    

XLNX    40.0     41.19  42.56  43.84  42.94  41.72  40.49
CEFT    32.5     33.47  33.72  32.76  32.87  32.26  32.54
LLTC    40.0     41.32  43.88  44.20  43.35  41.84  41.05
KLAC    65.0     65.19  68.25  68.66  65.61  65.00  64.41
PAYX    40.0     40.50  41.36  40.21  40.00  39.27  38.86


*** AMAT stock split played havoc with max pain calculations so is excluded from the study. The other stocks in the study each had a constant max pain figure for the whole week of expiry.
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  

HomeMailHotSubjectMarksPeopleMarksKeepersSettings
Terms Of UseContact UsCopyright/IP PolicyPrivacy PolicyAbout UsFAQAdvertise on SI
© 2026 Knight Sac Media.  Data provided by Twelve Data, Alpha Vantage, and CityFALCON News