What the institutional money is doing on COHU right now — dark pool, options positioning, and where the news and the money disagree. Free.
News frames Aehr as the stronger pick on backlog and AI tailwinds, but Cohu's options show defensive hedging (puts 1.7× calls) with no new bullish positioning—a mismatch suggesting skepticism beneath the surface.
Bank buying is a positive signal, but options remain defensive (put-heavy) with no fresh call accumulation, suggesting institutional equity interest has not yet translated into bullish derivatives bets.
BlackRock's large equity purchase is constructive, but options positioning remains put-heavy (0.59 call-to-put ratio) with no new bullish option opens, indicating the equity buy may be passive indexing or rebalancing rather than a conviction trade.
No fresh options positioning data available; standing derivatives remain defensive (put-heavy, low squeeze pressure), offering no signal to break the tie.
No options data tied to Royce's moves; Cohu's derivatives remain defensive and quiet, offering no confirmation of any new small-cap manager interest.
A divergence is when the news narrative and the institutional money flow point in opposite directions — a bearish headline while large call premium is bought, or heavy dark-pool selling under a bullish story. It signals the crowd and the desks may disagree.
Dark-pool volume — The share of trading executed off-exchange, at wholesalers and dark pools. About half of all US share volume prints there on an ordinary day, so the level by itself says almost nothing. What carries information is the distance from this name’s own recent norm, and whether the off-exchange size ran above its usual.
Off-exchange short share — How much of that off-exchange volume was sold short. The median across all listed names is about 49%, because wholesalers filling retail buy orders sell short and cover later. A reading near half is plumbing, not a bearish vote — compare it to the same name’s own 20-day norm.
Max pain — The price where the most options expire worthless — positioning often gravitates toward it near expiry.
Call wall / Put floor — Strikes with the heaviest call/put open interest — they often act as short-term resistance and support.
Put/Call ratio — Below ~0.7 leans bullish (more calls); above ~1 leans defensive (more puts).
