JBHT max pain for the Oct 16, 2026 expiry is $240, from the Fri Oct 2 options chain. The last price, $229.74, is 4.3% below it. Call wall $240 · put floor $230.
What the institutional money is doing on JBHT right now — dark pool, options positioning, and where the news and the money disagree. Free.
Ahead of the earnings date, traders are buying downside insurance (puts) at twice the rate of upside calls, signaling caution rather than confidence in the stock's near-term move.
The put-heavy options flow and below-normal off-exchange accumulation suggest institutional traders are hedging against the sector headwinds the headline describes, not betting on a rebound.
Despite the value-stock framing, options traders are not aggressively buying; instead, they are loading defensive puts and keeping off-exchange volume subdued, suggesting skepticism about near-term upside.
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).
