PCAR max pain for the Oct 16, 2026 expiry is $110, from the Fri Oct 2 options chain. The last price, $109.36, is 0.6% below it. Call wall $110 · put floor $100.
What the institutional money is doing on PCAR right now — dark pool, options positioning, and where the news and the money disagree. Free.
The news pitches a value entry, yet dark-pool short-selling is 11.8 points below PCAR's own norm and off-exchange volume is 18% below the 20-day average—institutions are not rushing to accumulate despite the discount.
The story highlights earnings momentum, yet call-to-put flow is only 0.19 (heavily call-favoring in volume terms) against balanced standing positions, and no new large bets opened—traders are not front-running the earnings story.
The stock is down, but dark-pool short-selling is well below normal (26.9% vs. 38.7% average), meaning the selling is not concentrated in institutional hands—retail or passive flows likely drove the dip.
The narrative frames PCAR as a defensive quality play, yet off-exchange volume is running 18% below normal and short-selling is subdued—institutional defensive positioning is not evident in the options or dark-pool data.
The stock is underperforming, but dark-pool short-selling remains well below PCAR's own average and off-exchange volume is subdued—the weakness is not being aggressively shorted or accumulated by large players.
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).
