Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) 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.
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) operates in the Healthcare sector, specifically the Drug Manufacturers - General industry, with a market capitalization near $956.74B, listed on NYSE, employing roughly 47,000 people, carrying a beta of 0.48 to the broader market. Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. Led by David A. Ricks, public since 1972-06-01.
Snapshot as of May 14, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $1007.39
- Max Pain Strike
- $980.00
- Total OI
- 367.5K
As of May 14, 2026, Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) max pain sits at $980.00, which is below the current spot price of $1007.39 (2.7% away). Spot sits 2.7% 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. LLY is a high-priced underlying (spot $1007.39), 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 (367.5K contracts) is healthy but not dominant; pinning effects can show but are not guaranteed. LLY is currently in positive dealer gamma ($172.1M), the regime that mechanically reinforces pinning by inducing dealers to buy weakness and sell strength near heavy-OI strikes. 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.
LLY Strategy Implications at the Current Max Pain Level
With spot 2.7% from the $980.00 max-pain level and Eli Lilly and Company in a positive-gamma regime, where dealer hedging mechanically pulls spot toward heavy-OI strikes, 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 LLY max pain analysis questions
- What is the current LLY max pain strike?
- As of May 14, 2026, Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) max pain sits at $980.00, which is 2.7% below the current spot price of $1007.39. 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 2.7% 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 LLY pin to its max pain strike at expiration?
- LLY is currently in positive dealer gamma, the regime that mechanically reinforces pinning. Dealers hedging long-gamma books buy weakness and sell strength near high-OI strikes, which pulls spot toward those levels into expiration. Total open interest across LLY (367.5K 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 LLY 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 LLY 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. LLY put/call OI ratio is 1.11 - balanced, so the max-pain calculation reflects the strike where the call and put OI distributions cross rather than a single dominant side.