What is the current MOMO max pain strike?

As of Oct 23, 2026, Hello Group Inc. (MOMO) max pain sits at $5.00, which is 10.9% above the current spot price of $4.51. 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 10.9% 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 MOMO pin to its max pain strike at expiration?

The assumed dealer book's GEX on MOMO is negative, a regime that amplifies directional moves rather than damping them. The pin-toward-max-pain bias weakens here because the book's hedging adds momentum rather than mean reversion. Total open interest across MOMO (23.1K 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 MOMO actually pins on a given expiration depends on the OI distribution, the gamma sign, and the absence of catalyst-driven moves that overwhelm hedging-driven flow.

How is MOMO 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. MOMO put/call OI ratio is 0.43 - call-heavy, which biases the max-pain calculation toward strikes above current spot when the call OI concentrates there.

Hello Group Inc. (MOMO) 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.

Hello Group Inc. (MOMO) operates in the Communication Services sector, specifically the Internet Content & Information industry, with a market capitalization near $646.4M, listed on NASDAQ, employing roughly 1,400 people, carrying a beta of 0.54 to the broader market. Hello Group Inc. Led by Yan Tang, public since 2014-12-11.

Snapshot as of Oct 23, 2026.

Spot Price: $4.51
Max Pain Strike: $5.00
Total OI: 23.1K

Exposures are methodology 2's assumed dealer book as of Oct 23, 2026, all expirations. Assumes dealers are long the calls and short the puts, a share p of open interest each - here 100% of open interest (the GEX page sets the share). A date without a methodology-2 row is a gap; a value marked * is partial, averaged over fewer days, or may include contracts expiring that day or of an unreadable expiration: its reason is printed beside it.

As of Oct 23, 2026, Hello Group Inc. (MOMO) max pain sits at $5.00, which is essentially at the current spot price of $4.51 (10.9% away). Spot sits 10.9% essentially at 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. MOMO is a low-priced underlying (spot $4.51), 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 (23.1K contracts), so single-strike pinning is less reliable than it is for high-OI names. The assumed dealer book's GEX on MOMO is negative (-$6.0K of delta per 1% move), 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.

MOMO Strategy Implications at the Current Max Pain Level

With spot 10.9% from the $5.00 max-pain level and Hello Group Inc. in a negative-GEX regime of the assumed dealer book, where its hedging amplifies directional moves and weakens any pin, strategy selection turns on cycle position and the book's gamma. 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 assumed book by strike, which decides whether its hedging would reinforce or fight the pin.

How to read the MOMO max-pain chart

The open-interest histogram shows where Hello Group Inc. call and put open interest is stacked. Under the assumed dealer book (dealers long the calls, short the puts), the strike with the most call gamma is the call wall: the book is long those calls, so its hedging sells rallies into it. The strike with the most put gamma is the put wall: the book is short those puts, so hedging them sells as price falls toward it, and a break below can accelerate a move. The max-pain strike is the single price at which the total cash payout to option holders is minimized - the lowest-pain price for the writers as a group. The max-pain strike sits at $5.00, 10.9% above spot. The assumed dealer book's GEX is negative at -$6.0K of delta per 1% move, so its hedging buys rallies and sells dips, amplifying realized volatility where real dealers are positioned like the book.

MOMO max-pain in context

Max pain is an end-of-cycle convergence signal, not an intraday compass. Cross-reference the level with the gamma-flip strike on the GEX page, the front-month ATM IV reading (currently 32.5%), and any catalyst risk on the calendar. Total listed OI on MOMO sits at 23.1K contracts; pin strength generally scales with this number, since heavier OI means more delta to hedge as spot drifts toward the strike. A pin can fail - earnings, FDA decisions, central-bank surprises, and other vol catalysts can rip spot past max pain regardless of where dealers want it. Use max pain to size risk-defined structures, not as a directional thesis.

Reading MOMO max-pain alongside the assumed dealer book

Convergence toward a strike needs long gamma at it; where the book is short gamma the same OI distribution can repel rather than attract spot. The assumed dealer book's GEX on MOMO is negative, so its hedging amplifies rather than dampens directional moves - max-pain convergence is less likely without a separate stabilizing catalyst. The put/call OI ratio sits at 0.00; ratios above 1.0 mean put-heavy open interest, which under the assumed book weighs GEX toward negative, and ratios below 0.7 call-heavy open interest, which weighs it toward positive. Combine the pin level with the gamma-flip level on the GEX page and the implied move to model out where spot is likely to anchor through expiration.

Learn how max pain is reported and how to read the data →

Frequently asked MOMO max pain analysis questions

What is the current MOMO max pain strike?: As of Oct 23, 2026, Hello Group Inc. (MOMO) max pain sits at $5.00, which is 10.9% above the current spot price of $4.51. 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 10.9% 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 MOMO pin to its max pain strike at expiration?: The assumed dealer book's GEX on MOMO is negative, a regime that amplifies directional moves rather than damping them. The pin-toward-max-pain bias weakens here because the book's hedging adds momentum rather than mean reversion. Total open interest across MOMO (23.1K 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 MOMO actually pins on a given expiration depends on the OI distribution, the gamma sign, and the absence of catalyst-driven moves that overwhelm hedging-driven flow.
How is MOMO 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. MOMO put/call OI ratio is 0.43 - call-heavy, which biases the max-pain calculation toward strikes above current spot when the call OI concentrates there.