Primary read
Bullish
Call-side pressure
Ticker Options Intelligence
KVUE options intelligence
Kenvue Inc. options pressure, expected move, strike concentration, and Sharemaestro trend context.
Conviction
49
Market data through 12 Aug 2026
Checked 12 Aug 2026 21:17 · complete available chain
Call-side pressure
Bullish pressure
KVUE currently carries bullish options pressure with a 49/100 conviction score. The nearest-chain expected move is 1.7%, with volume/open-interest participation at 0.08.
Expected move
1.7%
Near-term move context
Activity / OI
0.08
Current volume is quieter versus prior open interest
Put-call
0.26
Call-side skew
Trend fit
29
Options are not fully confirming trend
Weekly backdrop
-0.1%
RS -2.2
Expected move
1.7%
Put-call volume
0.26
Volume / OI
0.08
Reference IV
0.60
Max pain
19.00
Underlying
19.23
Nearest expiry
14 Aug 2026
Contracts
287
Research Brief
KVUE has a bullish chain read with 49/100 evidence alignment.
The practical question is whether the underlying confirms the options concentration. The chain prices a reference range of 18.91–19.55; The largest call open-interest concentration is 20.00; the largest put concentration is 18.50. The most active strike by current volume is 15.50.
Priced range18.91–19.55
Call concentration20.00
Put concentration18.50
Max pain reference19.00
- Price holds or improves while call-side concentration remains elevated.
- Participation is above the ticker's stored normal, which makes the read more noteworthy.
- Price weakens while call pressure fades or reverses toward puts.
- Options and the weekly trend are not yet giving the same message.
- Front-expiry volatility is rich, so the signal may be event-driven and vulnerable to volatility compression.
Priced Move
Where the chain says movement becomes exceptional
Options imply 18.91 to 19.55. Max pain at 19.00 sits inside that range, 1.2% below spot.
Spot
Max pain
18.9119.23 ± 0.3219.55
Confirmation level
A close beyond 19.55 or below 18.91 at the 14 Aug expiry would exceed the move currently priced by this chain.
Important limitation
The range is a pricing reference, not a forecast; volatility can reprice sharply after news or as expiry approaches.
Score Construction
Why conviction is 49/100
Pressure is 65/100 toward calls; conviction uses its strength, while the signal label carries its direction.
Directional pressure65 × 42%
+27.4
How strongly activity leans toward calls or puts.
Participation42 × 22%
+9.2
Volume relative to existing open interest and contract-level activity.
Trend agreement29 × 26%
+7.5
How closely the chain read agrees with the underlying trend backdrop.
Volatility48 × 10%
+4.8
The intensity of implied volatility and the priced move.
Positioning by Strike
Where open interest and current activity concentrate
The largest call open-interest concentration is 20.00; the largest put concentration is 18.50. The most active strike by current volume is 15.50. Open-interest concentrations show where positions exist; they are not proven support, resistance or dealer exposure.
Put open interestStrikeCall open interest
0
5.00-74.0%
0
0
13.50-29.8%
0
31
14.50-24.6%
0
107
15.00-22.0%
0
356
15.50-19.4%
0
40
16.00-16.8%
0
32
16.50-14.2%
0
57
17.00-11.6%
0
227
17.50-9.0%
0
139
18.00-6.4%
0
1311
18.50-3.8%
0
138
19.00-1.2%
238
14
19.501.4%
168
50
20.004.0%
759
0
20.506.6%
126
0
21.009.2%
21
0
25.0030.0%
98
Nearest spot strike Max pain strikeBars show relative OI within this expiry
Gamma Profile by Strike
Positive gamma proxy
Call-side gamma sensitivity outweighs the put-side proxy across the retained chain. The largest bars mark levels where delta-hedging sensitivity may be most concentrated.
Net profile+$4.0MDelta change / 1% move
Positive peak20.00+$2.1M
Negative peak18.50-$120,136
Nearest balance18.55Interpolated sign change
StrikeNegativePositiveNet / 1% move
13.00-32.4%
-$43,667
14.00-27.2%
-$1,650
14.50-24.6%
-$434
15.00-22.0%
-$85,155
15.50-19.4%
-$6,742
16.00-16.8%
-$6,334
16.50-14.2%
-$6,184
17.00-11.6%
-$20,148
17.50-9.0%
-$8,965
18.00-6.4%
+$136,669
18.50-3.8%
-$120,136
19.00-1.2%
+$974,761
19.501.4%
+$205,218
20.004.0%
+$2.1M
20.506.6%
+$91,297
21.009.2%
+$81,437
22.0014.4%
+$294,710
22.5017.0%
+$56
23.5022.2%
+$6
24.0024.8%
+$303
25.0030.0%
+$224,974
Positive call-side proxy Negative put-side proxyHighlighted row is nearest spot strike
Scenario proxy = gamma × open interest × 100 shares × spot² × 1%. Calls are positive and puts negative by convention. Missing Greeks use a Black-Scholes estimate from stored IV with zero rate and dividend assumptions. Open interest does not reveal who is long or short, so this is not observed dealer positioning or a forecast.
Volatility Curve
Front-loaded volatility
Near-term options are materially richer than later expirations, consistent with concentrated event or immediate-risk pricing.
0.60
14 Aug
2d
0.48
21 Aug
9d
0.41
28 Aug
16d
0.55
4 Sep
23d
0.48
11 Sep
30d
0.37
18 Sep
37d
0.40
20 Nov
100d
0.35
18 Dec
128d
Volatility by Strike
Upside optionality premium
Out-of-the-money calls carry higher implied volatility than comparable puts, indicating richer upside optionality.
16
16
17
17
18
18
19
19
20
20
21
21
23
Put IV Call IV
Historical Replay
How matured reads behaved through expiry
Across 3 stored directional transitions, the next stored price moved in the labelled direction 33% of the time.
Directional follow-through33%
Moves contained by pricing100%
Average expiry move0.1%
6 Aug
Mixed · 40
-0.1% through expiry
1.2% priced · v2.0
5 Aug
Bullish · 49
-0.1% through expiry
3.8% priced · v2.0
4 Aug
Volatility · 57
-0.1% through expiry
4.9% priced · v2.0
3 Aug
Mixed · 37
-0.1% through expiry
2.9% priced · v2.0
31 Jul
Bearish · 45
-0.1% through expiry
3.5% priced · v2.0
30 Jul
Bullish · 45
-0.2% through expiry
3.6% priced · v2.0
Eligible snapshots must have a dated market session, stored signal, and point-in-time market reference. Each observation uses one read per market session and the first stored weekly close on or immediately after expiry; its original calculation version is retained. It is an evidence audit, not an executable strategy or evidence of future performance.
Evidence Quality
Usable with limits
Retained chain100%
Implied volatility100%
Two-sided quotes100%
Open interest100%
- Chain status
- Complete available chain
- Market date
- 12 Aug 2026
- Calculation
- v2.0
- Contracts
- 287 / 287
- No material coverage gap was detected in the retained chain.
Aggregate chain data supports concentration, participation and pricing analysis. It does not identify trade aggressor, opening versus closing activity, multi-leg intent or dealer inventory.
Options Intent Radar
Multi-expiry position-maintenance candidate
Activity is spread across expirations with heavier open interest than current volume, which can be consistent with position maintenance.
Call-side pressure is building before a meaningful weekly price response.
Multi-expiry position-maintenance candidate matters because it connects the options headline to the actual evidence: $5.0M of estimated gross traded notional, calls · 91+ days · itm, and a bullish flow before price confirmation backdrop. Use it as a research priority signal, then validate the chart, liquidity, event calendar, and risk before acting.
Options pressure+65
1W price-0.1%
Call premium90%
Put premium10%
Notional split
C 90% / P 10%
Estimated gross traded notional uses volume × contract multiplier × midpoint, or last price when no valid midpoint is available.
Freshness
0.08
Volume divided by open interest across the visible chain.
Trend fit
29/100
Agreement between options pressure and Sharemaestro market context.
Aggregate chain data does not identify trade aggressor or opening versus closing activity; call/put concentration is not proof of market direction.
Roll detection is conservative because opening and closing legs are not directly observable in this snapshot.
Calls · 91+ days · ITM
calls cluster with 2505 contracts traded, $2.5M estimated gross traded notional, and 51% of visible notional.
$2.5M
Calls · 8-21 days · ITM
calls cluster with 6609 contracts traded, $1.5M estimated gross traded notional, and 30% of visible notional.
$1.5M
Calls · 22-45 days · ITM
calls cluster with 168 contracts traded, $216,132 estimated gross traded notional, and 4% of visible notional.
$216,132
Puts · 22-45 days · ITM
puts cluster with 162 contracts traded, $204,800 estimated gross traded notional, and 4% of visible notional.
$204,800
Calls · 0-7 days · ITM
calls cluster with 356 contracts traded, $189,916 estimated gross traded notional, and 4% of visible notional.
$189,916
Setup Classification
Opportunity and risk frame
The tape is pricing or displaying unusually elevated activity.
Options positioning is not confirming the underlying trend context.
Underlying price is close to the max-pain zone.
Activity Anomaly
High anomaly
Current options activity is unusually hot versus this ticker's stored history.
Baseline: 11 completed sessions
Volume rank100th
Volume/OI rank100th
IV rank64th
Market Context
Underlying confirmation
Close19.23
1W-0.1%
RS-2.2
Fair value+1.5%
Options pressure65
Speculation42
Volatility48
Trend fit29
Today Versus Normal
Stored-options context
30d avg 3.0% · 11 sessions
18th
90d avg - · 11/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 11/60 sessions
-
30d avg 0.49 · 11 sessions
64th
90d avg - · 11/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 11/60 sessions
-
30d avg 0.68 · 11 sessions
45th
90d avg - · 11/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 11/60 sessions
-
30d avg 0.02 · 11 sessions
100th
90d avg - · 11/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 11/60 sessions
-
Pressure Trail
Recent pressure and volatility
29 Jul 10:13
Bullish
Pressure 77
Move 2.1%
30 Jul 10:10
Volatility
Pressure 40
Move 4.8%
31 Jul 11:23
Bullish
Pressure 28
Move 3.6%
2 Aug 18:23
Bearish
Pressure -37
Move 3.5%
4 Aug 10:06
Mixed
Pressure 8
Move 2.9%
5 Aug 10:14
Volatility
Pressure 98
Move 4.9%
6 Aug 10:13
Bullish
Pressure 74
Move 3.8%
7 Aug 11:00
Mixed
Pressure 9
Move 1.2%
Strike Map
Where activity is clustering
Strike5.00
Calls · V 106 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike10.00
Calls · V 1 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike13.00
Calls · V 1 · OI 1
Puts · V 0 · OI 1
Strike13.50
Calls · V 55 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike14.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 1 · OI 11
Strike14.50
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 31
Strike15.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 1 · OI 107
Strike15.50
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 151 · OI 356
Term Structure
Expiration activity
Expiry14 Aug 2026
Contracts28
Avg IV0.60
Put-call0.32
Expiry21 Aug 2026
Contracts40
Avg IV0.48
Put-call0.03
Expiry28 Aug 2026
Contracts18
Avg IV0.41
Put-call0.07
Expiry4 Sep 2026
Contracts15
Avg IV0.55
Put-call2.46
Expiry11 Sep 2026
Contracts13
Avg IV0.48
Put-call0.10
Skew
Call/put IV balance
14 Aug 2026Balanced skew
Call IV0.33
Put IV0.28
Skew-0.05
21 Aug 2026Balanced skew
Call IV0.23
Put IV0.27
Skew0.04
28 Aug 2026Call IV premium
Call IV0.44
Put IV0.31
Skew-0.13
4 Sep 2026Put IV premium
Call IV0.37
Put IV0.61
Skew0.24
11 Sep 2026Put IV premium
Call IV0.38
Put IV0.52
Skew0.14
Contract Tape
Most active contracts
ContractKVUE260911C00020500
SideCall
Expiry11 Sep 2026
Strike20.50
Volume-
OI1278
IV0.37
ContractKVUE260911P00017000
SidePut
Expiry11 Sep 2026
Strike17.00
Volume-
OI90
IV0.64
ContractKVUE260911P00016500
SidePut
Expiry11 Sep 2026
Strike16.50
Volume-
OI60
IV0.69
ContractKVUE260814P00020000
SidePut
Expiry14 Aug 2026
Strike20.00
Volume-
OI50
IV0.73
ContractKVUE260911P00017500
SidePut
Expiry11 Sep 2026
Strike17.50
Volume-
OI40
IV0.72
ContractKVUE260814P00014500
SidePut
Expiry14 Aug 2026
Strike14.50
Volume-
OI31
IV3.40
ContractKVUE260904C00021000
SideCall
Expiry4 Sep 2026
Strike21.00
Volume-
OI30
IV0.54
ContractKVUE260911C00022000
SideCall
Expiry11 Sep 2026
Strike22.00
Volume-
OI30
IV0.66
Research Graph
Related research and context
Sharemaestro research
Related News
Market Watch
No recent market-watch posts yet.
Earnings
No upcoming matched earnings event.
Plain English Guide
Options context
What usually looks constructive
What usually looks cautious
Options can move quickly and can lose value fast. Treat this as research context, not a buy or sell instruction.