FOX max pain for the Oct 16, 2026 expiry is $45, from the Mon Oct 5 options chain. Call wall $60 · put floor $45.
What the institutional money is doing on FOX right now — dark pool, options positioning, and where the news and the money disagree. Free.
The money right now
Dark pool share
18.3% (market avg 49%)
Dark pool volume vs its norm
0.8×
Short share of that
61.5% (norm 42%)
Dark pool share: 18% off-exchange — 31pp below the market
Off-exchange prints never touch the public book, so they move size without moving the quote. That is the point of using them. Most of the day cleared on the lit market — either there was nothing to hide, or the large players sat out. Short share of the off-exchange piece: 62% vs a 42% norm.
Source: FINRA · Mon 10/5 close
What it means: FOX shows mixed signals: standing positions favor calls over puts, but the latest session's traded volume leaned heavily toward puts—a defensive tilt. Off-exchange activity is running below normal (0.81× the 20-day average) and skewed heavily short (61.5% vs. a 48.9% market norm), suggesting institutions are trimming or hedging rather than accumulating.
What is a “divergence”?
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.
How to read these numbers
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).