ESTC max pain for the Oct 16, 2026 expiry is $90, from the Fri Oct 2 options chain. The last price, $94.91, is 5.5% above it. Call wall $100 · put floor $85.
What the institutional money is doing on ESTC right now — dark pool, options positioning, and where the news and the money disagree. Free.
Call positions outnumber puts by more than 3-to-1 in both standing open interest and recent trading, but no new large positions were opened in the latest session, so the bullish lean is established, not fresh.
The product news aligns with the call-heavy options positioning, but the lack of new option buying in the latest session suggests the market may have already priced in the announcement or is waiting for customer adoption proof.
Call-heavy positioning is consistent with a constructive narrative, but the absence of fresh option volume suggests traders are holding existing bullish bets rather than adding to them.
The call-heavy options lean supports a bullish technical setup, but the very low squeeze score (10) and lack of new positioning suggest the move is orderly rather than driven by forced covering or panic buying.
Call-heavy options positioning and the stock's recent gains align with a bullish narrative, but the neutral off-exchange regime and lack of fresh large option orders suggest institutional accumulation is not accelerating.
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).
