---
title: "The Last Tape Said OTM. The Official Close Exercised the QQQ $731 Calls."
description: "On August 14, 2026, QQQ’s last option-tape print sat at $730.24—below the $731 strike. The official close was $732.10. OCC auto-exercise follows the close, not the last tick."
date: 2026-08-16
url: https://tradingflow.com/blogs/qqq-auto-exercise-official-close-vs-tape/
language: en
authors: ["John Hu"]
tags: ["QQQ","auto exercise","0DTE","open interest","moneyness","option flow","pin risk"]
---

# The Last Tape Said OTM. The Official Close Exercised the QQQ $731 Calls.

A long [0DTE](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/zero-dte/) QQQ call that is still open at Friday’s bell can become **stock over the weekend**.

Work the numbers for **11** QQQ **$731** calls that expire **August 14, 2026**:

- 11 × 100 = **1,100 shares**
- 1,100 × $731 = **$804,100** of stock
- A **1%** Monday gap on that book is about **$8,041**

That is ordinary OCC auto-exercise math, not a prediction. The interesting evidence question is whether those calls finished [in the money](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/moneyness/) at all.

On TradingFlow’s August 14 tape, the **last option-print spot is $730.24**—**out of the money** versus $731. The **official QQQ close is $732.10**—**in the money by $1.10**. [OCC](https://www.theocc.com/) auto-exercises long equity and ETF calls that expire ITM by **$0.01 or more versus the official close**, not versus the last tape print.

**Verdict:** auto-exercise of a long Aug 14 $731 call is **consistent with the official close**. The last tape print alone would have led you the other way.

![Two prices on August 14: last tape $730.24 OTM versus official close $732.10 ITM against the $731 strike](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/qqq-auto-exercise-official-close-vs-tape/images/close-vs-tape.svg)

*OCC reads the official cash close. The last option-tape underlying print is useful context and is not the exercise input.*

## Recreate the tape

Open [Historical Option Trades](https://app.tradingflow.com/app/option-trades/historical), sign in if asked, and apply:

- Mode: **Historical**
- Symbol: **QQQ**
- Date range: **2026-08-14**
- Time range: **Full day**
- Type: **CALL**
- Days to expiry: **0 to 0**
- Strike: **731 to 731**

Delayed data and a paid entitlement can apply. The date picker only offers sessions the tape can load.

![Annotated Historical Option Trades filter recipe for QQQ on August 14, 2026](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/qqq-auto-exercise-official-close-vs-tape/images/ot-qqq-session-annotated.png)

*Authenticated test-environment capture of Historical Option Trades after QQQ and the August 14 session were selected. The annotations mark the reproduction controls. This view does not by itself isolate the $731 0DTE call.*

Near the 15:49 New York prints, QQQ **spot is $730.24**. Neighboring 0DTE calls on that last-tape print sit:

| 0DTE strike | Last tape spot | Last option price | Tape moneyness |
| ---: | ---: | ---: | --- |
| 729 | $730.24 | $1.26 | ITM |
| 730 | $730.24 | $0.45 | ITM |
| **731** | **$730.24** | **$0.07** | **OTM** |
| 732 | $730.22 | $0.01 | OTM |

The 731 call’s last tape price is a few cents. Its last-tape [moneyness](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/moneyness/) is **OTM**. That is real. It is also incomplete.

![Annotated QQQ tape showing last-print spot $730.24 on August 14](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/qqq-auto-exercise-official-close-vs-tape/images/ot-tape-last-print-annotated.png)

*Same-session QQQ tape near 15:49 New York. Spot $730.24 is the last option-print underlying, not the official close. Side labels are quote location, not account identity.*

If you want the same audit on another expiry day, stay in [Historical Option Trades](https://app.tradingflow.com/app/option-trades/historical) and change only the date, expiry, and strike. Then open [TradingFlow App Home](https://app.tradingflow.com/app/home) to keep Rank, tape, and cookbooks in one workspace.

## Official close is the exercise input

[Rank Symbols](https://app.tradingflow.com/app/rank/symbols) locked to **2026-08-14** and **QQQ** shows the same session clock as the tape: last trade **3:49:14 PM ET**.

![Annotated Rank Symbols view locked to QQQ on August 14, 2026](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/qqq-auto-exercise-official-close-vs-tape/images/rank-qqq-session-annotated.png)

*Authenticated test-environment capture of Rank Symbols. Session date and QQQ filter match the tape. The visible Spot/last-trade clock is 3:49 PM ET—the same last-print window as Historical Option Trades. Official close ($732.10) comes from that session’s symbol metadata, not from the last option-print spot.*

Symbol metadata for QQQ on **2026-08-14**:

| Field | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Open | $725.10 |
| High | $734.00 |
| Low | $724.00 |
| **Official close** | **$732.10** |
| Change | +1.2% |
| Last tape spot | $730.24 |
| Close − $731 | **+$1.10** |
| Close moneyness | **ITM** |
| Intrinsic at close | **$1.10** |

The closing auction can move an index ETF more than a dollar after the last option print you still see on the tape. That is why a 731 call can look dead at 15:49 and still be exercised after the official print.

![Assignment math for 11 long QQQ 731 calls](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/qqq-auto-exercise-official-close-vs-tape/images/assignment-math.svg)

*If 11 longs are still open and OCC exercises them, the account buys 1,100 QQQ at $731. Weekend gap risk is then a stock problem. Public tape cannot prove those 11 were held in one account.*

This is also [pin risk](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/pin-risk/) adjacent: a strike that finishes near spot can force exercise, assignment, and hedge noise even when the last tick looked harmless.

## Open interest: the strike was still being added to

[Open interest](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/open-interest/) answers a different question than the close. ΔOI tests whether the **strike added or unwound** positions into expiry. It does **not** decide exercise, and it does **not** name a trader.

From the August 14 [option-chain](https://tradingflow.com/docs/option-chain-and-oi/) snapshot for QQQ 731C expiring that day:

| | |
| --- | ---: |
| Thursday OI (implied) | 1,266 |
| Friday expiry OI | **1,771** |
| Friday ΔOI | **+505** |
| Friday volume | 26,912 |
| [Vol/OI](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/vol-oi/) | **15.20** |
| 11 / expiry OI | **0.6%** |

**+505** means net **new** open interest into Friday, not a close-down. **Vol/OI 15.2** means most Friday prints did **not** stay open. A forgotten 11-lot, if it existed, lives in the **1,771** book—not in the 26,912 tape.

The 15-session chain ledger:

| Date | OI | ΔOI | Volume | Vol/OI |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Jul 31 | 424 | −1 | 62 | 0.15 |
| Aug 4 | 678 | +230 | 327 | 0.48 |
| Aug 12 | 1,000 | +131 | 2,739 | 2.74 |
| Aug 13 | 1,266 | +266 | 26,912 | 21.26 |
| **Aug 14** | **1,771** | **+505** | 26,912 | 15.20 |

OI rose from about **424 to 1,771**. The two largest adds are **August 4 (+230)** and **expiry Friday (+505)**. This is a held-and-added strike, not a one-print wonder.

![Open-interest path for the QQQ 731 call into August 14 expiry](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/qqq-auto-exercise-official-close-vs-tape/images/oi-path.svg)

*Chain OI is an overnight book. Tape `oi` on a historical print is the latest known value for that contract, not OI at the print’s timestamp. After expiry the series has no next-session OI print.*

August 13 and August 14 share the same chain `daily_volume` (26,912) and option close ($3.34). Treat those two volume/close cells as possibly stale versus the last tape print of **$0.07**. Trust the **OI / ΔOI path**.

## What the public data can and cannot say

| Question | Evidence | Defensible language |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Did the 731C finish ITM? | Official close $732.10 | **Yes, by $1.10** |
| Would OCC auto-exercise a long? | ITM by more than $0.01 | **Consistent with the rule** |
| Did the last tape look OTM? | Last spot $730.24, last price $0.07 | **Yes** |
| Was the strike unwinding? | ΔOI +505, OI 1,771 | **No — net adding** |
| Were most Friday prints carried? | Vol/OI 15.2 | **No** |
| Who held the 11? | Anonymous tape and aggregate OI | **Unknown** |
| Were they opened Friday? | 11 is 2.2% of +505 and 0.6% of OI | **Unprovable** |

[Option flow](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/option-flow/) is anonymous. Bid / ask / mid is quote location. [Opening-position](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/open-interest/) filters are heuristics, not broker instructions.

## Related reading

- [SPY / SPX / QQQ 0DTE evidence loop](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/0dte-spy-spx-qqq-evidence-loop/)
- [Call walls, put walls, pin days](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/call-put-walls-pin-day-evidence/)
- [Max pain is not a pin forecast](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/max-pain-vs-walls-gex-evidence/)
- [Pre-move positioning and OI accumulation](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/pre-move-positioning/)

## Learn more

- [Moneyness](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/moneyness/) · [Open interest](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/open-interest/) · [Vol/OI](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/vol-oi/)
- [Pin risk](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/pin-risk/) · [Zero DTE](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/zero-dte/) · [Option flow](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/option-flow/)
- [Option trades tutorial](https://tradingflow.com/docs/option-trades/) · [Option chain and OI](https://tradingflow.com/docs/option-chain-and-oi/)

## Open the app

[TradingFlow App Home](https://app.tradingflow.com/app/home) → Historical Option Trades for the expiry-day tape → Rank Symbols for the official close → chain OI for create-versus-unwind.

Educational market-structure research only—not investment advice. Options involve substantial risk of loss.

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Research and education, not investment advice.