KB max pain is $120. Call wall $135 · put floor $120.
What the institutional money is doing on KB right now — dark pool, options positioning, and where the news and the money disagree. Free.
News frames KB as a dividend opportunity, but options positioning shows 5.75× more downside insurance than upside bets, signaling caution despite the bullish narrative.
A fund's Q2 purchase is backward-looking; current options data shows defensive hedging (5.75× put-to-call ratio), suggesting institutional sentiment has shifted since that filing.
Macro tailwind is real, but KB's options market is heavily weighted to downside protection (5.75× puts vs calls), suggesting traders are hedging against idiosyncratic risk despite the regional strength.
News highlights recent price strength, but options open interest leans 5.75× toward downside bets, and off-exchange accumulation (71 stealth score) suggests smart money is quietly buying while hedging downside—not confirming the bullish momentum story.
News groups KB with momentum winners, but the options market is defensive (5.75× put-heavy) and off-exchange volume shows accumulation at a discount to the public book—smart money is buying quietly while protecting against downside, not chasing the price move.
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).
