Primary read
Bearish
Put-side pressure
Ticker Options Intelligence
KMB options intelligence
Kimberly-Clark Corporation options pressure, expected move, strike concentration, and Sharemaestro trend context.
Conviction
44
Market data through 17 Sep 2026
Checked 18 Sep 2026 11:06 · complete available chain
Put-side pressure
Bearish pressure
KMB currently carries bearish options pressure with a 44/100 conviction score. The nearest-chain expected move is 1.5%, with volume/open-interest participation at 0.04.
Expected move
1.5%
Near-term move context
Activity / OI
0.04
Current volume is quieter versus prior open interest
Put-call
2.39
Put-side skew
Trend fit
66
Options agree with trend context
Weekly backdrop
-0.3%
RS -15.2
Expected move
1.5%
Put-call volume
2.39
Volume / OI
0.04
Reference IV
0.22
Max pain
100.00
Underlying
98.15
Nearest expiry
18 Sep 2026
Contracts
1086
Research Brief
KMB has a bearish chain read with 44/100 evidence alignment.
The practical question is whether the underlying confirms the options concentration. The chain prices a reference range of 96.72–99.58; The largest call open-interest concentration is 110.00; the largest put concentration is 100.00. The most active strike by current volume is 110.00.
Priced range96.72–99.58
Call concentration110.00
Put concentration100.00
Max pain reference100.00
- Price remains weak while put-side concentration persists.
- The current chain read already agrees with the stored weekly trend context.
- Price recovers while put pressure fades or reverses toward calls.
Priced Move
Where the chain says movement becomes exceptional
Options imply 96.72 to 99.58. Max pain at 100.00 lies outside the priced range, so it is a weak near-term anchor.
Spot
Max pain
96.7298.15 ± 1.4399.58
Confirmation level
A close beyond 99.58 or below 96.72 at the 18 Sep 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 44/100
Pressure is 37/100 toward puts; conviction uses its strength, while the signal label carries its direction.
Directional pressure37 × 42%
+15.7
How strongly activity leans toward calls or puts.
Participation41 × 22%
+9.0
Volume relative to existing open interest and contract-level activity.
Trend agreement66 × 26%
+17.1
How closely the chain read agrees with the underlying trend backdrop.
Volatility21 × 10%
+2.1
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 110.00; the largest put concentration is 100.00. The most active strike by current volume is 110.00. Open-interest concentrations show where positions exist; they are not proven support, resistance or dealer exposure.
Put open interestStrikeCall open interest
909
85.00-13.4%
1
626
90.00-8.3%
2
928
95.00-3.2%
9
357
97.00-1.2%
7
314
98.00-0.2%
264
190
99.000.9%
166
1453
100.001.9%
267
22
101.002.9%
355
66
102.003.9%
215
91
103.004.9%
202
12
104.006.0%
200
94
105.007.0%
774
110
110.0012.1%
2701
12
115.0017.2%
2193
17
120.0022.3%
1194
8
125.0027.4%
536
0
140.0042.6%
261
Nearest spot strike Max pain strikeBars show relative OI within this expiry
Gamma Profile by Strike
Negative gamma proxy
Put-side gamma sensitivity outweighs the call-side proxy across the retained chain. The largest bars mark levels where delta-hedging sensitivity may be most concentrated.
Net profile-$5.7MDelta change / 1% move
Positive peak110.00+$1.2M
Negative peak98.00-$2.7M
Nearest balance100.98Interpolated sign change
StrikeNegativePositiveNet / 1% move
89.00-9.3%
-$309
90.00-8.3%
-$509,039
91.00-7.3%
-$7,545
92.00-6.3%
-$810
93.00-5.2%
-$19,011
93.50-4.7%
-$5,972
94.00-4.2%
-$50,438
95.00-3.2%
-$2.3M
96.00-2.2%
-$454,358
97.00-1.2%
-$1.0M
98.00-0.2%
-$2.7M
99.000.9%
-$81,390
100.001.9%
-$1.9M
101.002.9%
+$43,434
102.003.9%
+$10,930
103.004.9%
+$8,025
104.006.0%
-$110,296
105.007.0%
+$921,653
106.008.0%
+$20,856
107.009.0%
+$6,589
108.0010.0%
-$19,042
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
Back-loaded volatility
Longer-dated options carry more implied volatility than the front expiry, so risk is priced farther out.
0.22
18 Sep
1d
0.21
25 Sep
8d
0.19
2 Oct
15d
0.24
9 Oct
22d
0.24
16 Oct
29d
0.24
23 Oct
36d
0.25
30 Oct
43d
0.29
20 Nov
64d
Volatility by Strike
Upside optionality premium
Out-of-the-money calls carry higher implied volatility than comparable puts, indicating richer upside optionality.
80
86
87
89
91
92
94
95
97
98
100
102
103
105
107
109
110
112
114
115
117
Put IV Call IV
Historical Replay
How matured reads behaved through expiry
Across 21 stored directional transitions, the next stored price moved in the labelled direction 14% of the time.
Directional follow-through14%
Moves contained by pricing85%
Average expiry move1.7%
17 Sep
Bearish · 44
-0.3% through expiry
1.5% priced · v2.0
15 Sep
Bearish · 47
-0.3% through expiry
2.8% priced · v2.0
11 Sep
Mixed · 41
-0.3% through expiry
2.0% priced · v2.0
9 Sep
Mixed · 43
-6.5% through expiry
6.2% priced · v2.0
4 Sep
Bullish · 50
-6.5% through expiry
2.3% priced · v2.0
1 Sep
Bullish · 50
-4.2% through expiry
3.8% priced · v2.0
28 Aug
Bullish · 43
-4.2% through expiry
3.1% priced · v2.0
25 Aug
Bullish · 46
-1.0% through expiry
1.8% priced · v2.0
24 Aug
Bullish · 49
-1.0% through expiry
3.7% priced · v2.0
21 Aug
Bullish · 49
-1.0% through expiry
3.0% priced · v2.0
20 Aug
Bullish · 41
-2.2% through expiry
2.2% priced · v2.0
19 Aug
Bullish · 47
-2.2% through expiry
2.3% 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
- 17 Sep 2026
- Calculation
- v2.0
- Contracts
- 1086 / 1086
- 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
Put-heavy activity
Put-side activity dominates. This can reflect hedging or directional positioning, but the chain alone cannot distinguish buying from selling.
Put-side pressure is present before a decisive weekly price breakdown.
Put-heavy activity matters because it connects the options headline to the actual evidence: $1.7M of estimated gross traded notional, puts · 0-7 days · itm, and a bearish 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-37
1W price-0.3%
Call premium30%
Put premium70%
Notional split
C 30% / P 70%
Estimated gross traded notional uses volume × contract multiplier × midpoint, or last price when no valid midpoint is available.
Freshness
0.04
Volume divided by open interest across the visible chain.
Trend fit
66/100
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.
Puts · 0-7 days · ITM
puts cluster with 781 contracts traded, $684,810 estimated gross traded notional, and 41% of visible notional.
$684,810
Calls · 0-7 days · ITM
calls cluster with 113 contracts traded, $293,190 estimated gross traded notional, and 18% of visible notional.
$293,190
Puts · 8-21 days · ITM
puts cluster with 199 contracts traded, $214,292 estimated gross traded notional, and 13% of visible notional.
$214,292
Puts · 91+ days · OTM
puts cluster with 324 contracts traded, $77,955 estimated gross traded notional, and 5% of visible notional.
$77,955
Calls · 91+ days · OTM
calls cluster with 338 contracts traded, $71,842 estimated gross traded notional, and 4% of visible notional.
$71,842
Setup Classification
Opportunity and risk frame
Positioning agrees with the Sharemaestro trend backdrop.
Underlying price is close to the max-pain zone.
Put pressure is building after the stock has already moved below fair value.
Activity Anomaly
Normal range
Activity is broadly in line with recent stored snapshots.
Baseline: 27 completed sessions
Volume rank48th
Volume/OI rank44th
IV rank26th
Market Context
Underlying confirmation
Close97.86
1W-0.3%
RS-15.2
Fair value-15.7%
Options pressure-37
Speculation41
Volatility21
Trend fit66
Today Versus Normal
Stored-options context
30d avg 3.0% · 12 sessions
0th
90d avg - · 27/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 27/60 sessions
-
30d avg 0.27 · 12 sessions
42th
90d avg - · 27/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 27/60 sessions
-
30d avg 0.82 · 12 sessions
92th
90d avg - · 27/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 27/60 sessions
-
30d avg 0.06 · 12 sessions
33th
90d avg - · 27/30 sessions
-
180d avg - · 27/60 sessions
-
Pressure Trail
Recent pressure and volatility
1 Aug 05:58
Bearish
Pressure -31
Move 4.8%
3 Aug 10:34
Bearish
Pressure -31
Move 4.7%
3 Aug 17:30
Mixed
Pressure 1
Move 4.3%
3 Aug 18:02
Mixed
Pressure -1
Move 4.3%
4 Aug 18:10
Bullish
Pressure 26
Move 3.2%
5 Aug 19:11
Bullish
Pressure 27
Move 3.0%
6 Aug 08:34
Bullish
Pressure 23
Move 3.4%
7 Aug 07:01
Mixed
Pressure 10
Move 2.2%
Strike Map
Where activity is clustering
Strike55.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 2
Strike60.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 1
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Strike65.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 1
Puts · V 0 · OI 22
Strike70.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 27
Strike75.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 1
Puts · V 0 · OI 64
Strike80.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 6
Puts · V 0 · OI 204
Strike85.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 1
Puts · V 0 · OI 909
Strike86.00
Calls · V 0 · OI 0
Puts · V 0 · OI 0
Term Structure
Expiration activity
Expiry18 Sep 2026
Contracts124
Avg IV0.22
Put-call8.19
Expiry25 Sep 2026
Contracts102
Avg IV0.21
Put-call0.48
Expiry2 Oct 2026
Contracts100
Avg IV0.19
Put-call17.70
Expiry9 Oct 2026
Contracts98
Avg IV0.24
Put-call28.75
Expiry16 Oct 2026
Contracts46
Avg IV0.24
Put-call0.58
Skew
Call/put IV balance
18 Sep 2026Call IV premium
Call IV0.33
Put IV0.27
Skew-0.06
25 Sep 2026Balanced skew
Call IV0.26
Put IV0.23
Skew-0.03
2 Oct 2026Call IV premium
Call IV0.27
Put IV0.19
Skew-0.08
9 Oct 2026Put IV premium
Call IV0.20
Put IV0.31
Skew0.11
16 Oct 2026Balanced skew
Call IV0.24
Put IV0.23
Skew-0.01
Contract Tape
Most active contracts
ContractKMB260918P00110000
SidePut
Expiry18 Sep 2026
Strike110.00
Volume261
OI110
IV0.01
ContractKMB261002P00095000
SidePut
Expiry2 Oct 2026
Strike95.00
Volume204
OI72
IV0.24
ContractKMB261002P00096000
SidePut
Expiry2 Oct 2026
Strike96.00
Volume200
OI21
IV0.19
ContractKMB261002P00110000
SidePut
Expiry2 Oct 2026
Strike110.00
Volume169
OI103
IV0.32
ContractKMB260918P00102000
SidePut
Expiry18 Sep 2026
Strike102.00
Volume116
OI66
IV0.01
ContractKMB260918P00100000
SidePut
Expiry18 Sep 2026
Strike100.00
Volume112
OI1453
IV0.25
ContractKMB260918P00105000
SidePut
Expiry18 Sep 2026
Strike105.00
Volume108
OI94
IV1.00
ContractKMB270115P00080000
SidePut
Expiry15 Jan 2027
Strike80.00
Volume101
OI534
IV0.30
Research Graph
Related research and context
Sharemaestro research
Related News
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Earnings
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.