What the institutional money is doing on MPC right now — dark pool, options positioning, and where the news and the money disagree. Free.
News frames these as stable income plays, but MPC's options positioning shows balanced hedging and low squeeze pressure—money is not aggressively accumulating on this narrative.
News is bullish on refiner tailwinds, but MPC's money signals remain cautious—put hedging is elevated (1.15 ratio), squeeze score is minimal (5), and institutions are trading lightly off-exchange (21%), suggesting skepticism about the rally's durability.
News reports tech outperformance and industrial underperformance, and MPC's weak institutional activity (21% dark pool) and low squeeze score (5) confirm money is flowing elsewhere, not into energy.
News emphasizes MPLX's dividend durability, yet MPC's options show balanced hedging (1.15 put-to-call) and no accumulation signal—money is neither rushing to buy nor heavily protecting against downside.
News frames DK as underappreciated, but MPC's weak institutional buying (21% dark pool), balanced hedging (1.15), and minimal squeeze pressure (5) suggest the broader refiner complex is not seeing fresh institutional conviction despite the year-to-date gains.
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 done off-exchange, where institutions move size quietly. Well above ~40% means big players are active.
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).
