Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Merck & Co MRK.
And retail traders should know.
We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.
Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with MRK, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.
So how do we know what these investors just did?
Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 28 uncommon options trades for Merck & Co.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 46% bullish and 50%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 12 are puts, for a total amount of $765,049, and 16 are calls, for a total amount of $979,127.
Predicted Price Range
Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $105.0 to $135.0 for Merck & Co during the past quarter.
Analyzing Volume & Open Interest
In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Merck & Co options trades today is 2543.21 with a total volume of 16,881.00.
In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Merck & Co's big money trades within a strike price range of $105.0 to $135.0 over the last 30 days.
Merck & Co Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview
Largest Options Trades Observed:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Ask | Bid | Price | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRK | PUT | SWEEP | BULLISH | 06/21/24 | $4.95 | $4.65 | $4.65 | $127.00 | $186.0K | 200 | 6 |
| MRK | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 01/17/25 | $6.75 | $6.15 | $6.75 | $130.00 | $185.6K | 3.3K | 346 |
| MRK | PUT | SWEEP | BULLISH | 06/21/24 | $6.05 | $4.65 | $4.65 | $127.00 | $125.0K | 200 | 806 |
| MRK | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 01/17/25 | $4.8 | $4.3 | $4.8 | $135.00 | $113.7K | 1.4K | 267 |
| MRK | PUT | SWEEP | BEARISH | 06/21/24 | $1.5 | $1.4 | $1.4 | $120.00 | $98.2K | 6.2K | 822 |
About Merck & Co
Merck makes pharmaceutical products to treat several conditions in a number of therapeutic areas, including cardiometabolic disease, cancer, and infections. Within cancer, the firm's immuno-oncology platform is growing as a major contributor to overall sales. The company also has a substantial vaccine business, with treatments to prevent pediatric diseases as well as human papillomavirus, or HPV. Additionally, Merck sells animal health-related drugs. From a geographical perspective, just under half of the company's sales are generated in the United States.
Having examined the options trading patterns of Merck & Co, our attention now turns directly to the company. This shift allows us to delve into its present market position and performance
Merck & Co's Current Market Status
- With a volume of 8,276,446, the price of MRK is down -0.98% at $124.66.
- RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching oversold.
- Next earnings are expected to be released in 61 days.
Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.
If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Merck & Co, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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