Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bearish stance on Merck & Co MRK.
And retail traders should know.
We noticed this today when the big position showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.
Whether this is an institution or just a wealthy individual, 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 this whale just did?
Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 12 uncommon options trades for Merck & Co.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 41% bullish and 58%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 2 are puts, for a total amount of $288,000, and 10 are calls, for a total amount of $555,898.
What's The Price Target?
Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $92.5 to $130.0 for Merck & Co over the last 3 months.
Volume & Open Interest Development
Looking at the volume and open interest is an insightful way to conduct due diligence on a stock.
This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Merck & Co's options for a given strike price.
Below, we can observe the evolution of the volume and open interest of calls and puts, respectively, for all of Merck & Co's whale activity within a strike price range from $92.5 to $130.0 in the last 30 days.
Merck & Co Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days
Biggest Options Spotted:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRK | PUT | TRADE | BEARISH | 12/16/22 | $130.00 | $260.0K | 200 | 100 |
| MRK | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 01/20/23 | $97.50 | $217.0K | 6.6K | 255 |
| MRK | CALL | TRADE | BULLISH | 04/21/23 | $95.00 | $59.6K | 507 | 91 |
| MRK | CALL | TRADE | BULLISH | 04/21/23 | $95.00 | $57.6K | 507 | 45 |
| MRK | CALL | TRADE | BEARISH | 07/21/23 | $105.00 | $37.3K | 80 | 45 |
Where Is Merck & Co Standing Right Now?
- With a volume of 2,532,002, the price of MRK is up 0.85% at $105.12.
- RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.
- Next earnings are expected to be released in 73 days.
What The Experts Say On Merck & Co:
- Truist Securities has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $106.
- Wells Fargo has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $110.
- Barclays has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $110.
- Atlantic Equities has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $122.
- Guggenheim has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $111.
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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