Highest Open Interest Stocks — Top 50 by Total Options OI
As of April 21, 2026 (end-of-day snapshot). Pages update daily after the market close.
Total options open interest (call + put contracts outstanding) accumulates over every prior session that wasn't offset by closing trades. Names at the top of the OI leaderboard are where institutional positioning has piled up — and they are the names where dealer hedging flows, max pain pinning, and gamma walls matter most. Persistent high OI signals a ticker institutions have taken a view on; sharp drops in OI after expiration mean position cleanup.
Top 50 by Total OI
| # | Ticker | Total OI | Spot Price | ATM IV | P/C Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SPX | - | $7057.52 | 17.0% | 1.25 |
| 2 | SPY | - | $703.36 | 17.3% | 1.23 |
| 3 | NVDA | - | $199.51 | 40.6% | 0.67 |
| 4 | VIX | - | $20.50 | 90.2% | 0.46 |
| 5 | QQQ | - | $643.12 | 21.8% | 1.19 |
| 6 | IWM | - | $274.08 | 25.2% | 1.76 |
| 7 | CVNA | - | $15.95 | 84.7% | 0.78 |
| 8 | SLV | - | $68.50 | 54.0% | 0.47 |
| 9 | TLT | - | $86.66 | 10.8% | 1.00 |
| 10 | HYG | - | $80.34 | 5.0% | 2.23 |
| 11 | IBIT | - | $42.47 | 43.8% | 0.43 |
| 12 | TSLA | - | $386.40 | 47.2% | 0.91 |
| 13 | NFLX | - | $92.53 | 30.4% | 0.46 |
| 14 | XLF | - | $52.25 | 19.0% | 1.36 |
| 15 | EEM | - | $62.19 | 26.7% | 0.88 |
| 16 | GLD | - | $429.59 | 26.5% | 0.85 |
| 17 | INTC | - | $65.87 | 74.5% | 0.92 |
| 18 | AMZN | - | $249.40 | 40.8% | 0.46 |
| 19 | EWZ | - | $40.89 | 29.5% | 0.44 |
| 20 | XLE | - | $55.85 | 27.6% | 0.47 |
| 21 | AAPL | - | $266.50 | 29.4% | 0.60 |
| 22 | SOFI | - | $18.73 | 72.4% | 0.47 |
| 23 | FXI | - | $37.08 | 22.8% | 0.84 |
| 24 | MSFT | - | $423.72 | 36.9% | 0.36 |
| 25 | PLTR | - | $145.46 | 62.3% | 0.49 |
| 26 | NIO | - | $6.46 | 65.7% | 0.31 |
| 27 | KWEB | - | $29.36 | 32.5% | 0.27 |
| 28 | AMD | - | $282.74 | 63.9% | 0.70 |
| 29 | META | - | $668.31 | 42.3% | 0.73 |
| 30 | GOOGL | - | $332.30 | 36.7% | 0.85 |
| 31 | AAL | - | $11.63 | 60.3% | 1.36 |
| 32 | MU | - | $448.41 | 72.8% | 0.66 |
| 33 | MSTR | - | $165.05 | 76.8% | 0.59 |
| 34 | BAC | - | $53.26 | 26.1% | 1.21 |
| 35 | ORCL | - | $181.88 | 55.8% | 0.35 |
| 36 | PFE | - | $27.34 | 27.9% | 0.63 |
| 37 | SMCI | - | $28.50 | 85.2% | 0.47 |
| 38 | WULF | - | $19.54 | 102.9% | 0.23 |
| 39 | RIVN | - | $17.05 | 74.8% | 0.40 |
| 40 | MARA | - | $11.14 | 95.4% | 0.30 |
| 41 | PYPL | - | $50.88 | 50.0% | 0.33 |
| 42 | SNAP | - | $5.66 | 89.5% | 0.13 |
| 43 | NKE | - | $46.39 | 33.7% | 0.28 |
| 44 | CRWV | - | $114.61 | 97.5% | 0.74 |
| 45 | IREN | - | $45.38 | 109.2% | 0.67 |
| 46 | HOOD | - | $86.56 | 74.4% | 0.61 |
| 47 | AVGO | - | $400.02 | 44.5% | 0.80 |
| 48 | XLU | - | $44.95 | 19.4% | 0.66 |
| 49 | GDX | - | $93.65 | 48.6% | 0.96 |
| 50 | KRE | - | $69.47 | 27.7% | 2.06 |
Methodology
OI aggregates call and put contracts outstanding per ticker from daily end-of-day OPRA snapshots. Names are ranked by total OI (calls plus puts) with a minimum threshold to filter out low-activity symbols. Updated once per trading day after the close.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is options open interest?
Open interest is the number of options contracts that are currently open — meaning they have been created through a buy-to-open trade and have not yet been closed, exercised, or expired. Each contract typically represents 100 shares of the underlying.
Why does high OI matter?
High OI concentrations show where institutional and professional positioning has accumulated. These strikes act as support/resistance through dealer hedging flows, become gravitational anchors near expiration (the max pain effect), and reveal which names the smart money is trading.
How does OI differ from volume?
Volume counts trades in a single session. Open interest counts all outstanding contracts across prior sessions. Volume is a flow metric; OI is a stock metric. Together they reveal whether positions are being built (OI rising) or unwound (OI falling).
When does OI drop significantly?
The day after a major expiration. Expired contracts are removed from OI automatically. Post-expiration OI drops typically reflect routine cleanup, not a directional signal.