KIM max pain for the Oct 16, 2026 expiry is $22.50, from the Fri Oct 2 options chain. The last price, $22.03, is 2.1% below it. Call wall $25 · put floor $20.
What the institutional money is doing on KIM right now — dark pool, options positioning, and where the news and the money disagree. Free.
The options market leans bullish (more calls than puts), but no new call positions opened recently, so institutional money has not yet validated the income-play thesis with fresh buying.
No new options positioning ahead of the October 29 earnings date, leaving the market's true conviction on results unclear.
Options remain call-biased, but the lack of fresh positioning and elevated off-exchange short activity (72.6%) suggests institutions are not aggressively accumulating on this narrative.
Call-heavy options lean supports the bullish case, but no new call buying has materialized, and off-exchange short volume remains elevated, indicating skepticism from large traders.
Options positioning (call-heavy, low squeeze pressure) does not align with a cautious Hold rating; smart money shows no defensive hedging, suggesting either confidence or indifference rather than concern.
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).
