Primary read
Bearish
Put-side pressure
Ticker Options Intelligence
WMB options intelligence
Williams Companies Inc options pressure, expected move, strike concentration, and Sharemaestro trend context.
Conviction
54
Market data through 31 Jul 2026
Checked 1 Aug 2026 05:51 · complete available chain
Put-side pressure
Bearish pressure
WMB currently carries bearish options pressure with a 54/100 conviction score. The nearest-chain expected move is 5.1%, with volume/open-interest participation at 0.08.
Expected move
5.1%
Near-term move context
Activity / OI
0.08
Current volume is quieter versus prior open interest
Put-call
10.00
Put-side skew
Trend fit
35
Options are not fully confirming trend
Weekly backdrop
+0.8%
RS 4.4
Expected move
5.1%
Put-call volume
10.00
Volume / OI
0.08
Reference IV
0.39
Max pain
71.00
Underlying
74.00
Nearest expiry
7 Aug 2026
Contracts
710
Research Brief
WMB has a bearish chain read with 54/100 evidence alignment.
The practical question is whether the underlying confirms the options concentration. The chain prices a reference range of 70.20–77.80; The largest call open-interest concentration is 75.00; the largest put concentration is 70.00. The most active strike by current volume is 68.00.
Priced range70.20–77.80
Call concentration75.00
Put concentration70.00
Max pain reference71.00
- Price remains weak while put-side concentration persists.
- Price recovers while put pressure fades or reverses toward calls.
- 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 70.20 to 77.80. Max pain at 71.00 sits inside that range, 4.1% below spot.
Spot
Max pain
70.2074.00 ± 3.8077.80
Confirmation level
A close beyond 77.80 or below 70.20 at the 7 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 54/100
Pressure is 73/100 toward puts; conviction uses its strength, while the signal label carries its direction.
Directional pressure73 × 42%
+30.6
How strongly activity leans toward calls or puts.
Participation42 × 22%
+9.2
Volume relative to existing open interest and contract-level activity.
Trend agreement35 × 26%
+9.0
How closely the chain read agrees with the underlying trend backdrop.
Volatility48 × 10%
+4.8
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 75.00; the largest put concentration is 70.00. The most active strike by current volume is 68.00. Open-interest concentrations show where positions exist; they are not proven support, resistance or dealer exposure.
Put open interestStrikeCall open interest
2
65.00-12.2%
43
0
66.00-10.8%
43
2
68.00-8.1%
1
5
69.00-6.8%
8
162
70.00-5.4%
15
43
71.00-4.1%
6
57
72.00-2.7%
21
24
73.00-1.4%
312
18
74.000.0%
66
12
75.001.4%
2371
6
76.002.7%
81
0
77.004.1%
339
0
78.005.4%
21
0
80.008.1%
378
0
81.009.5%
69
0
82.0010.8%
175
0
83.0012.2%
1233
Nearest spot strike Max pain strikeBars show relative OI within this expiry
Volatility Curve
Front-loaded volatility
Near-term options are materially richer than later expirations, consistent with concentrated event or immediate-risk pricing.
0.39
7 Aug
7d
0.34
14 Aug
14d
0.33
21 Aug
21d
0.32
28 Aug
28d
0.30
4 Sep
35d
0.30
11 Sep
42d
0.30
18 Sep
49d
0.31
16 Oct
77d
Volatility by Strike
Balanced wings
Comparable upside calls and downside puts carry broadly similar implied volatility.
60
61
63
64
65
67
68
69
71
72
74
75
76
78
79
80
82
83
84
86
87
Put IV Call IV
Historical Replay
How matured reads behaved through expiry
Forward validation is building. The earliest eligible stored read expires 31 Jul 2026; its result will appear after the matched closing reference is stored.
Directional follow-through-
Moves contained by pricing-
Average expiry move-
Validation readiness
- Versioned calculationv2 observations only
- Independent entryone read per market session
- Point-in-time referencerequired at entry
- Matched expiry closereported only after maturity
Only v2 snapshots with a point-in-time market reference are eligible. Each observation uses one read per market session and the first weekly close on or immediately after expiry. 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
- 31 Jul 2026
- Calculation
- v2.0
- Contracts
- 710 / 710
- 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
Put-heavy activity
Put-side activity dominates. This can reflect hedging or directional positioning, but the chain alone cannot distinguish buying from selling.
Put-side pressure is building while price is rising, a cautionary divergence.
Put-heavy activity matters because it connects the options headline to the actual evidence: $2.0M of estimated gross traded notional, puts · 22-45 days · otm, and a bearish flow against rising price backdrop. Use it as a research priority signal, then validate the chart, liquidity, event calendar, and risk before acting.
Options pressure-73
1W price+0.8%
Call premium19%
Put premium81%
Notional split
C 19% / P 81%
Estimated gross traded notional uses volume × contract multiplier × midpoint, or last price when no valid midpoint is available.
Freshness
0.08
Volume divided by open interest across the visible chain.
Trend fit
35/100
Agreement between options pressure and Sharemaestro market context.
Event window
3 Aug
Matched earnings event is 2 days away.
Aggregate chain data does not identify trade aggressor or opening versus closing activity; call/put concentration is not proof of market direction.
Puts · 22-45 days · OTM
puts cluster with 18032 contracts traded, $950668 estimated gross traded notional, and 48% of visible notional.
$950668
Puts · 46-90 days · OTM
puts cluster with 1144 contracts traded, $267362 estimated gross traded notional, and 14% of visible notional.
$267362
Calls · 8-21 days · ITM
calls cluster with 564 contracts traded, $127460 estimated gross traded notional, and 6% of visible notional.
$127460
Puts · 91+ days · OTM
puts cluster with 415 contracts traded, $124392 estimated gross traded notional, and 6% of visible notional.
$124392
Puts · 8-21 days · OTM
puts cluster with 623 contracts traded, $119838 estimated gross traded notional, and 6% of visible notional.
$119838
Setup Classification
Opportunity and risk frame
Expected move or upcoming earnings makes the setup more event-sensitive.
Options positioning is not confirming the underlying trend context.
Activity Anomaly
Warming up
3 of 10 completed market sessions are available. More session history is needed before activity can be compared with a reliable normal.
Baseline: 3 completed sessions
Volume rank-
Volume/OI rank-
IV rank-
Market Context
Underlying confirmation
Close74.00
1W+0.8%
RS4.4
Fair value+46.1%
Options pressure-73
Speculation42
Volatility48
Trend fit35
Today Versus Normal
Stored-options context
30d avg - · 3/10 sessions
-
90d avg - · 3/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 3/60 sessions
-
30d avg - · 3/10 sessions
-
90d avg - · 3/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 3/60 sessions
-
30d avg - · 3/10 sessions
-
90d avg - · 3/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 3/60 sessions
-
30d avg - · 3/10 sessions
-
90d avg - · 3/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 3/60 sessions
-
Pressure Trail
Recent pressure and volatility
29 Jul 10:03
Bullish
Pressure 54
Move 4.9%
30 Jul 10:02
Bullish
Pressure 86
Move 4.7%
30 Jul 22:26
Bullish
Pressure 72
Move 4.9%
31 Jul 15:53
Bullish
Pressure 59
Move 4.0%
31 Jul 18:52
Bullish
Pressure 42
Move 3.3%
31 Jul 20:24
Bullish
Pressure 40
Move 3.0%
1 Aug 01:23
Bearish
Pressure -74
Move 3.0%
1 Aug 04:51
Bearish
Pressure -73
Move 5.1%
Strike Map
Where activity is clustering
Strike40.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike45.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike50.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 2
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike55.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 2
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike58.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike59.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike60.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike61.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Term Structure
Expiration activity
Expiry7 Aug 2026
Contracts70
Avg IV0.39
Put-call2.08
Expiry14 Aug 2026
Contracts70
Avg IV0.34
Put-call0.01
Expiry21 Aug 2026
Contracts78
Avg IV0.33
Put-call0.71
Expiry28 Aug 2026
Contracts70
Avg IV0.32
Put-call0.41
Expiry4 Sep 2026
Contracts70
Avg IV0.30
Put-call-
Skew
Call/put IV balance
7 Aug 2026Balanced skew
Call IV0.41
Put IV0.40
Skew-0.01
14 Aug 2026Balanced skew
Call IV0.34
Put IV0.36
Skew0.02
21 Aug 2026Balanced skew
Call IV0.32
Put IV0.33
Skew0.01
28 Aug 2026Balanced skew
Call IV0.32
Put IV0.32
Skew-
4 Sep 2026Balanced skew
Call IV0.36
Put IV0.35
Skew-0.01
Contract Tape
Most active contracts
ContractWMB260911P00064000
SidePut
Expiry11 Sep 2026
Strike64.00
Volume18002
OI-
IV0.32
ContractWMB261016P00070000
SidePut
Expiry16 Oct 2026
Strike70.00
Volume656
OI814
IV0.32
ContractWMB260821C00072000
SideCall
Expiry21 Aug 2026
Strike72.00
Volume495
OI12
IV0.32
ContractWMB261016P00065000
SidePut
Expiry16 Oct 2026
Strike65.00
Volume371
OI179
IV0.32
ContractWMB260821P00072000
SidePut
Expiry21 Aug 2026
Strike72.00
Volume328
OI508
IV0.34
ContractWMB260821C00074000
SideCall
Expiry21 Aug 2026
Strike74.00
Volume191
OI87
IV0.33
ContractWMB260814C00078000
SideCall
Expiry14 Aug 2026
Strike78.00
Volume173
OI24
IV0.39
ContractWMB260807P00068000
SidePut
Expiry7 Aug 2026
Strike68.00
Volume140
OI2
IV0.41
Research Graph
Related research and context
Sharemaestro research
Related News
No recent ticker-specific news yet.
Market Watch
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Earnings
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.