CPB max pain for the Oct 9, 2026 expiry is $20.50. The last price, $19.30, is 5.9% below it. Call wall $21 · put floor $19.
What the institutional money is doing on CPB right now — dark pool, options positioning, and where the news and the money disagree. Free.
Options traders are leaning bullish (more calls than puts) despite the 16% plunge and dividend cut, but no new large positions have opened to back that lean—a mismatch between sentiment and conviction.
Options positioning remains call-heavy, but the lack of new money flowing in suggests traders are watching rather than betting on a turnaround.
Call-heavy options lean suggests some traders see value, but the low squeeze score (18) and absence of fresh positioning indicate skepticism about near-term recovery.
Options traders agree (call-heavy lean), and the stock is trading near max pain ($20.50), but no new large bets have been placed—suggesting cautious optimism rather than conviction.
Options lean bullish (more calls than puts) and the stock sits near the $20 analyst target, but the lack of fresh open interest means traders are not aggressively positioning for the rebound yet.
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).
