What the institutional money is doing on MVLL right now — dark pool, options positioning, and where the news and the money disagree. Free.
The money right now
Dark pool share
40.4% (market avg 51%)
Dark pool volume vs its norm
2.6×
Short share of that
53.1% (norm 51%)
Dark pool share: Off-exchange volume ran 2.6× 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. Activity clearly picked up, but the short share at 53% vs a 51% norm is unremarkable — too early to call it accumulation or unwinding. Whether it persists is the tell.
Source: FINRA · prior close · 2026-08-28
What it means: Institutional traders are moving large orders quietly off-exchange at nearly 2.6× normal volume, with positioning balanced between upside and downside bets; short-squeeze pressure is minimal, and the stock sits below both the call-wall resistance and max-pain level, suggesting no urgent directional conviction.
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).