Knife River shares fell 5.0% to $50.54, well below the $89.63 value estimate
The price drop lines up with the off-exchange selling pattern, though options positioning still leans toward calls.
GuruFocus · 10/07
Undercurrent · Money-flow snapshot
KNF Max Pain, Dark Pool & Options Flow
KNF max pain for the Oct 16, 2026 expiry is $55, from the Fri Oct 9 options chain. The last price, $49.84, is 9.4% below it. Call wall $55 · put floor $45.
What the institutional money is doing on KNF right now — dark pool, options positioning, and where the news and the money disagree. Free.
The money right now
Dark pool share
37.4% (market avg 52%)
Dark pool volume vs its norm
0.6×
Short share of that
73.2% (norm 54%)
Price
$49.84
Max pain
$55
Oct 16 exp
Call wall
$55
Oct 16 exp
Put floor
$45
Oct 16 exp
Put/Call ratio
0.44
Squeeze pressure
20
Dark pool share: Off-exchange volume was quiet at 0.6× its norm
Off-exchange prints never touch the public book, so they move size without moving the quote. That is the point of using them. Large players were quiet in this name that day. The share (37.4%) may look normal, but the absolute size behind it was thin.
Source: FINRA · Fri 10/9 close
What it means: Off-exchange trading in KNF leaned toward selling: volume was roughly half its usual level, but the share executed short ran well above this ticker's norm, which reads as distribution rather than quiet accumulation. Options positioning is call-leaning, with more calls than puts outstanding, so the signals are mixed.
News vs the money
⚡ DIVERGENCEAnalysts rate Knife River a Buy with an $89 target, expecting margins to recover despite near-term problems
The bullish analyst view runs against the off-exchange selling, which points to more distribution than accumulation.
Seeking Alpha · 09/28
⚡ DIVERGENCEKnife River shares rose today after activist investor Starboard Value pushed for change
The share rise is not clearly reflected in the off-exchange data, which shows heavy short selling, so the money and the news point in different directions.
The Motley Fool · 09/24
⚡ DIVERGENCEKnife River says it remains focused on disciplined execution and shareholder value after Starboard's letter
The company's reassurance does not match the heavy off-exchange short selling, which suggests some investors are still reducing their holdings.
Business Wire · 09/24
⚡ DIVERGENCEStarboard Value has sent Knife River a letter calling for changes to its management
This pressure from Starboard has not yet shown up as the kind of accumulation that usually follows activist campaigns, as the off-exchange data points to selling.
Business Wire · 09/24
See it live, free
Get Undercurrent — the news behind the money →Add KNF to My Watchlist in the free SIGNUM HQ app (iPhone · Android) →New to this? Why'd It Move? turns today's move into a 60-second lesson →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).
Nearby tickers
Today’s off-exchange leaders → · See all tickers →Today’s rankings — what broke from normal
Learn the numbers