KLA Corporation (KLAC) 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.
KLA Corporation (KLAC) operates in the Technology sector, specifically the Semiconductors industry, with a market capitalization near $241.62B, listed on NASDAQ, employing roughly 15,000 people, carrying a beta of 1.50 to the broader market. KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. Led by Richard Wallace, public since 1980-10-08.
Snapshot as of May 15, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $1818.62
- Max Pain Strike
- $1780.00
- Total OI
- 41.9K
As of May 15, 2026, KLA Corporation (KLAC) max pain sits at $1780.00, which is below the current spot price of $1818.62 (2.1% away). Spot sits 2.1% below max pain - close enough that a routine end-of-cycle gamma roll could pull price toward the level, but far enough that catalyst-driven flow would dominate. KLAC is a high-priced underlying (spot $1818.62), so listed strikes typically space $5-$25 apart and the per-contract gamma is large per dollar of underlying. Total open interest across the listed chain is comparatively thin (41.9K contracts), so single-strike pinning is less reliable than it is for high-OI names. KLAC is currently in negative dealer gamma (-$23.9M), 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.
KLAC Strategy Implications at the Current Max Pain Level
With spot 2.1% from the $1780.00 max-pain level and KLA Corporation 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 KLAC max pain analysis questions
- What is the current KLAC max pain strike?
- As of May 15, 2026, KLA Corporation (KLAC) max pain sits at $1780.00, which is 2.1% below the current spot price of $1818.62. 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 2.1% gap is close enough that a routine end-of-cycle gamma roll could pull spot toward the level, but far enough that catalyst-driven flow typically dominates.
- Does KLAC pin to its max pain strike at expiration?
- KLAC 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 KLAC (41.9K 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 KLAC 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 KLAC 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. KLAC put/call OI ratio is 1.43 - put-heavy, which biases the max-pain calculation toward strikes below current spot when the put OI concentrates there.