Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bullish 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.
Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 17 options trades for Merck & Co.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 82% bullish and 17%, bearish.
Out of all of the options we uncovered, there was 1 put, for a total amount of $26,643, and 16, calls, for a total amount of $1,093,855..
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 $75.0 to $135.0 for Merck & Co over the last 3 months.
Volume & Open Interest Development
In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Merck & Co options trades today is 1576.75 with a total volume of 15,051.00.
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 $75.0 to $135.0 over 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 | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 07/21/23 | $120.00 | $120.9K | 9.0K | 956 |
| MRK | CALL | TRADE | BEARISH | 07/21/23 | $120.00 | $109.5K | 9.0K | 632 |
| MRK | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 07/21/23 | $120.00 | $85.0K | 9.0K | 2.1K |
| MRK | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 07/21/23 | $120.00 | $82.0K | 9.0K | 2.1K |
| MRK | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 07/21/23 | $120.00 | $80.0K | 9.0K | 1.6K |
Where Is Merck & Co Standing Right Now?
- With a volume of 2,375,692, the price of MRK is up 1.08% at $119.16.
- RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be overbought.
- Next earnings are expected to be released in 90 days.
What The Experts Say On Merck & Co:
- Atlantic Equities has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $129.
- Guggenheim has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $124.
- Citigroup upgraded its action to Buy with a price target of $130
- Barclays has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $130.
- Mizuho downgraded its action to Buy with a price target of $130
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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