Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (EBS) Max Pain Analysis
Max pain is the strike price where aggregate option buyer payout is minimized at expiration. It represents the price at which option writers retain the most premium.
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (EBS) operates in the Healthcare sector, specifically the Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic industry, with a market capitalization near $429.8M, listed on NYSE, employing roughly 900 people, carrying a beta of 2.33 to the broader market. Emergent BioSolutions Inc. Led by Joseph C. Papa Jr., public since 2006-11-15.
Snapshot as of May 15, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $7.98
- Max Pain Strike
- $10.00
- Total OI
- 14.5K
As of May 15, 2026, Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (EBS) max pain sits at $10.00, which is above the current spot price of $7.98 (25.3% away). Spot sits 25.3% above max pain - the gap is wide enough that the pinning effect alone is unlikely to close it; expect catalyst flow, positioning unwinds, or rebalancing to drive the actual price path before any expiration pull. EBS is a low-priced underlying (spot $7.98), where $0.50 or finer strike spacing increases the number of viable pin candidates and dampens the dominant-strike effect. Total open interest across the listed chain is comparatively thin (14.5K contracts), so single-strike pinning is less reliable than it is for high-OI names. EBS is currently in negative dealer gamma (-$198.9K), a regime that amplifies directional moves rather than damping them, weakening the pin-toward-max-pain bias. Max pain identifies the strike at which the aggregate dollar value of all outstanding options contracts would expire with the least total intrinsic value, a gravitational reference rather than a price target.
EBS Strategy Implications at the Current Max Pain Level
With spot 25.3% from the $10.00 max-pain level and Emergent BioSolutions Inc. in a negative-gamma regime, where dealer hedging amplifies directional moves and weakens any pin, strategy selection turns on cycle position and dealer positioning. Iron condors and credit spreads centered near the max-pain strike capture the typical end-of-cycle convergence when the regime supports pinning; ratio backspreads or directional debit structures fit names where catalyst flow is likely to overwhelm the hedging-driven pull. The gamma-exposure page shows the per-strike dealer book that determines whether hedging will reinforce or fight the pin.
Learn how max pain is reported and how to read the data →
Frequently asked EBS max pain analysis questions
- What is the current EBS max pain strike?
- As of May 15, 2026, Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (EBS) max pain sits at $10.00, which is 25.3% above the current spot price of $7.98. Max pain identifies the strike at which aggregate option-buyer payouts at expiration are minimized; it is a gravitational reference, not a price target. A 25.3% gap is wide enough that the pinning effect alone is unlikely to close it; expect catalyst flow, positioning unwinds, or rebalancing to drive the price path before any expiration pull.
- Does EBS pin to its max pain strike at expiration?
- EBS is currently in negative dealer gamma, a regime that amplifies directional moves rather than damping them. The pin-toward-max-pain bias weakens here because dealer hedging adds momentum rather than mean reversion. Total open interest across EBS (14.5K contracts) is one input to how plausible a clean pin is - heavier total OI concentrated at fewer strikes raises the probability; thin OI spread across many strikes lowers it. Pinning is strongest in heavily-traded names with large open-interest concentrations at high-OI strikes during the final week of an OPEX cycle. Whether EBS actually pins on a given expiration depends on the OI distribution, the dealer-gamma sign, and the absence of catalyst-driven moves that overwhelm hedging-driven flow.
- How is EBS max pain calculated?
- Max pain is computed by summing the dollar value of all in-the-money options at each candidate settlement strike across listed expirations, then selecting the strike that minimizes total intrinsic-value payout to option buyers. The calculation uses the full open-interest distribution and weighs both calls and puts. EBS put/call OI ratio is 0.29 - call-heavy, which biases the max-pain calculation toward strikes above current spot when the call OI concentrates there.