Sphere Entertainment Co. (SPHR) 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.
Sphere Entertainment Co. (SPHR) operates in the Communication Services sector, specifically the Entertainment industry, with a market capitalization near $4.75B, listed on NYSE, employing roughly 1,080 people, carrying a beta of 1.68 to the broader market. Sphere Entertainment Co. Led by James Lawrence Dolan, public since 2020-04-09.
Snapshot as of May 15, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $135.38
- Max Pain Strike
- $135.00
- Total OI
- 27.4K
As of May 15, 2026, Sphere Entertainment Co. (SPHR) max pain sits at $135.00, which is essentially at the current spot price of $135.38 (0.3% away). Spot is essentially pinned to max pain right now; the gravitational center and the actual price coincide, the regime where end-of-cycle pinning is mechanically most plausible. SPHR trades in the standard mid-price band (spot $135.38), with listed strikes typically $1-$5 apart and balanced single-leg vs multi-leg flow. Total open interest across the listed chain is comparatively thin (27.4K contracts), so single-strike pinning is less reliable than it is for high-OI names. SPHR is currently in positive dealer gamma ($763.6K), 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.
SPHR Strategy Implications at the Current Max Pain Level
With spot effectively pinned the $135.00 max-pain level and Sphere Entertainment Co. 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 →
SPHR highest open-interest contracts
| Type | Strike | Expiration | Volume | OI | IV | Bid | Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CALL | $150.00 | Nov 20, 2026 | 0 | 4.0K | 57.1% | $16.10 | $19.00 |
Top 1 contracts from the ORATS-sourced nightly scan; ranked by oi within the broader S&P 500/400/600 + ETF universe.
Frequently asked SPHR max pain analysis questions
- What is the current SPHR max pain strike?
- As of May 15, 2026, Sphere Entertainment Co. (SPHR) max pain sits at $135.00, which is 0.3% below the current spot price of $135.38. Max pain identifies the strike at which aggregate option-buyer payouts at expiration are minimized; it is a gravitational reference, not a price target. SPHR is essentially pinned right now - the gravitational center and the actual price coincide.
- Does SPHR pin to its max pain strike at expiration?
- SPHR 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 SPHR (27.4K 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 SPHR 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 SPHR 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. SPHR put/call OI ratio is 0.71 - balanced, so the max-pain calculation reflects the strike where the call and put OI distributions cross rather than a single dominant side.