Primary read
Bullish
Call-side pressure
Ticker Options Intelligence
HLX options intelligence
Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc options pressure, expected move, strike concentration, and Sharemaestro trend context.
Conviction
57
Market data through 12 Aug 2026
Checked 13 Aug 2026 12:21 · complete available chain
Call-side pressure
Bullish pressure
HLX currently carries bullish options pressure with a 57/100 conviction score. The nearest-chain expected move is 8.5%, with volume/open-interest participation at 0.00.
Expected move
8.5%
Wider near-term move priced
Activity / OI
0.00
Current volume is quieter versus prior open interest
Put-call
0.05
Call-side skew
Trend fit
0
Options are not fully confirming trend
Weekly backdrop
+0.9%
RS 6.5
Expected move
8.5%
Put-call volume
0.05
Volume / OI
0.00
Reference IV
0.54
Max pain
9.00
Underlying
9.60
Nearest expiry
21 Aug 2026
Contracts
144
Research Brief
HLX has a bullish chain read with 57/100 evidence alignment.
The practical question is whether the underlying confirms the options concentration. The chain prices a reference range of 8.78–10.42; The largest call open-interest concentration is 12.00; the largest put concentration is 8.00. The most active strike by current volume is 1.00.
Priced range8.78–10.42
Call concentration12.00
Put concentration8.00
Max pain reference9.00
- Price holds or improves while call-side concentration remains elevated.
- Price weakens while call pressure fades or reverses toward puts.
- Options and the weekly trend are not yet giving the same message.
- Front-expiry volatility is rich, so the signal may be event-driven and vulnerable to volatility compression.
Priced Move
Where the chain says movement becomes exceptional
Options imply 8.78 to 10.42. Max pain at 9.00 sits inside that range, 6.2% below spot.
Spot
Max pain
8.789.60 ± 0.8210.42
Confirmation level
A close beyond 10.42 or below 8.78 at the 21 Aug expiry would exceed the move currently priced by this chain.
Important limitation
The range is a pricing reference, not a forecast; volatility can reprice sharply after news or as expiry approaches.
Score Construction
Why conviction is 57/100
Pressure is 99/100 toward calls; conviction uses its strength, while the signal label carries its direction.
Directional pressure99 × 42%
+41.4
How strongly activity leans toward calls or puts.
Participation40 × 22%
+8.8
Volume relative to existing open interest and contract-level activity.
Trend agreement0 × 26%
+0.0
How closely the chain read agrees with the underlying trend backdrop.
Volatility72 × 10%
+7.2
The intensity of implied volatility and the priced move.
Positioning by Strike
Where open interest and current activity concentrate
The largest call open-interest concentration is 12.00; the largest put concentration is 8.00. The most active strike by current volume is 1.00. Open-interest concentrations show where positions exist; they are not proven support, resistance or dealer exposure.
Put open interestStrikeCall open interest
0
1.00-89.6%
0
0
2.00-79.2%
2
0
3.00-68.8%
0
0
4.00-58.3%
0
0
5.00-47.9%
0
0
6.00-37.5%
0
0
7.00-27.1%
0
11
8.00-16.7%
0
2
9.00-6.3%
73
1
10.004.2%
32
0
11.0014.6%
5
0
12.0025.0%
80
0
13.0035.4%
4
0
14.0045.8%
2
0
15.0056.3%
0
0
16.0066.7%
0
0
17.0077.1%
0
Nearest spot strike Max pain strikeBars show relative OI within this expiry
Gamma Profile by Strike
Positive gamma proxy
Call-side gamma sensitivity outweighs the put-side proxy across the retained chain. The largest bars mark levels where delta-hedging sensitivity may be most concentrated.
Net profile+$70,621Delta change / 1% move
Positive peak11.00+$33,474
Negative peak8.00-$3,398
Nearest balance8.71Interpolated sign change
StrikeNegativePositiveNet / 1% move
2.00-79.2%
+$1
3.00-68.8%
+$0
5.00-47.9%
+$8
6.00-37.5%
+$50
7.00-27.1%
+$93
8.00-16.7%
-$3,398
9.00-6.3%
+$1,403
10.004.2%
+$27,126
11.0014.6%
+$33,474
12.0025.0%
+$10,744
13.0035.4%
+$773
14.0045.8%
+$211
15.0056.3%
+$57
16.0066.7%
+$46
17.0077.1%
+$22
18.0087.5%
+$9
20.00108.3%
+$3
Positive call-side proxy Negative put-side proxyHighlighted row is nearest spot strike
Scenario proxy = gamma × open interest × 100 shares × spot² × 1%. Calls are positive and puts negative by convention. Missing Greeks use a Black-Scholes estimate from stored IV with zero rate and dividend assumptions. Open interest does not reveal who is long or short, so this is not observed dealer positioning or a forecast.
Volatility Curve
Front-loaded volatility
Near-term options are materially richer than later expirations, consistent with concentrated event or immediate-risk pricing.
0.54
21 Aug
9d
0.36
18 Sep
37d
0.48
18 Dec
128d
0.46
19 Mar
219d
Volatility by Strike
Downside protection premium
Out-of-the-money puts carry higher implied volatility than comparable calls, indicating richer downside protection.
8
9
10
11
Put IV Call IV
Historical Replay
How matured reads behaved through expiry
Forward validation is building. The earliest eligible stored read expires 21 Aug 2026; its result will appear after the matched closing reference is stored.
Directional follow-through-
Moves contained by pricing-
Average expiry move-
Validation readiness
- Auditable calculationoriginal version retained
- Independent entryone read per market session
- Point-in-time referencerequired at entry
- Matched expiry closereported only after maturity
Eligible snapshots must have a dated market session, stored signal, and point-in-time market reference. Each observation uses one read per market session and the first stored weekly close on or immediately after expiry; its original calculation version is retained. It is an evidence audit, not an executable strategy or evidence of future performance.
Evidence Quality
High
Retained chain100%
Implied volatility100%
Two-sided quotes100%
Open interest100%
- Chain status
- Complete available chain
- Market date
- 12 Aug 2026
- Calculation
- v2.0
- Contracts
- 144 / 144
- No material coverage gap was detected in the retained chain.
Aggregate chain data supports concentration, participation and pricing analysis. It does not identify trade aggressor, opening versus closing activity, multi-leg intent or dealer inventory.
Options Intent Radar
Multi-expiry position-maintenance candidate
Activity is spread across expirations with heavier open interest than current volume, which can be consistent with position maintenance.
Call-side pressure is building before a meaningful weekly price response.
Multi-expiry position-maintenance candidate matters because it connects the options headline to the actual evidence: $1,665 of estimated gross traded notional, calls · 91+ days · otm, and a bullish flow before price confirmation backdrop. Use it as a research priority signal, then validate the chart, liquidity, event calendar, and risk before acting.
Options pressure+99
1W price+0.9%
Call premium99%
Put premium1%
Notional split
C 99% / P 1%
Estimated gross traded notional uses volume × contract multiplier × midpoint, or last price when no valid midpoint is available.
Freshness
0.00
Volume divided by open interest across the visible chain.
Trend fit
0/100
Agreement between options pressure and Sharemaestro market context.
Aggregate chain data does not identify trade aggressor or opening versus closing activity; call/put concentration is not proof of market direction.
Roll detection is conservative because opening and closing legs are not directly observable in this snapshot.
Calls · 91+ days · OTM
calls cluster with 19 contracts traded, $1,655 estimated gross traded notional, and 99% of visible notional.
$1,655
Puts · 22-45 days · OTM
puts cluster with 1 contracts traded, $10 estimated gross traded notional, and 1% of visible notional.
$10
Setup Classification
Opportunity and risk frame
The tape is pricing or displaying unusually elevated activity.
Expected move or upcoming earnings makes the setup more event-sensitive.
Options positioning is not confirming the underlying trend context.
Activity Anomaly
Warming up
9 of 10 completed market sessions are available. More session history is needed before activity can be compared with a reliable normal.
Baseline: 9 completed sessions
Volume rank-
Volume/OI rank-
IV rank-
Market Context
Underlying confirmation
Close9.60
1W+0.9%
RS6.5
Fair value+6.9%
Options pressure99
Speculation40
Volatility72
Trend fit0
Today Versus Normal
Stored-options context
30d avg - · 9/10 sessions
-
90d avg - · 9/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 9/60 sessions
-
30d avg - · 9/10 sessions
-
90d avg - · 9/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 9/60 sessions
-
30d avg - · 9/10 sessions
-
90d avg - · 9/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 9/60 sessions
-
30d avg - · 9/10 sessions
-
90d avg - · 9/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 9/60 sessions
-
Pressure Trail
Recent pressure and volatility
29 Jul 11:07
Volatility
Pressure 65
Move 14.6%
30 Jul 10:55
Volatility
Pressure 100
Move 14.1%
31 Jul 10:40
Bullish
Pressure 100
Move 12.9%
2 Aug 16:54
Volatility
Pressure 100
Move 17.9%
4 Aug 10:35
Volatility
Pressure 100
Move 15.8%
5 Aug 11:06
Volatility
Pressure 100
Move 16.3%
6 Aug 11:13
Volatility
Pressure 100
Move 12.1%
10 Aug 11:03
Bullish
Pressure 100
Move 8.4%
Strike Map
Where activity is clustering
Strike1.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike2.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 2
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike3.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike4.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike5.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike6.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike7.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike8.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 11
Term Structure
Expiration activity
Expiry21 Aug 2026
Contracts34
Avg IV0.54
Put-call-
Expiry18 Sep 2026
Contracts40
Avg IV0.36
Put-call-
Expiry18 Dec 2026
Contracts36
Avg IV0.48
Put-call-
Expiry19 Mar 2027
Contracts34
Avg IV0.46
Put-call-
Skew
Call/put IV balance
21 Aug 2026Put IV premium
Call IV0.32
Put IV0.42
Skew0.11
18 Sep 2026Call IV premium
Call IV0.66
Put IV0.21
Skew-0.45
18 Dec 2026Balanced skew
Call IV0.50
Put IV0.46
Skew-0.04
19 Mar 2027Balanced skew
Call IV0.46
Put IV0.44
Skew-0.02
Contract Tape
Most active contracts
ContractHLX270319C00011000
SideCall
Expiry19 Mar 2027
Strike11.00
Volume10
OI1
IV0.46
ContractHLX261218C00012000
SideCall
Expiry18 Dec 2026
Strike12.00
Volume6
OI130
IV0.41
ContractHLX261218C00011000
SideCall
Expiry18 Dec 2026
Strike11.00
Volume3
OI33
IV0.43
ContractHLX260918P00008000
SidePut
Expiry18 Sep 2026
Strike8.00
Volume1
OI1001
IV0.38
ContractHLX260918C00011000
SideCall
Expiry18 Sep 2026
Strike11.00
Volume-
OI1704
IV0.15
ContractHLX260918C00010000
SideCall
Expiry18 Sep 2026
Strike10.00
Volume-
OI999
IV0.41
ContractHLX260918C00012000
SideCall
Expiry18 Sep 2026
Strike12.00
Volume-
OI625
IV0.66
ContractHLX260821C00012000
SideCall
Expiry21 Aug 2026
Strike12.00
Volume-
OI80
IV0.56
Research Graph
Related research and context
Sharemaestro research
Related News
No recent ticker-specific news yet.
Market Watch
No recent market-watch posts yet.
Earnings
No upcoming matched earnings event.
Plain English Guide
Options context
What usually looks constructive
What usually looks cautious
Options can move quickly and can lose value fast. Treat this as research context, not a buy or sell instruction.