Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Merck & Co (NYSE: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 8 uncommon options trades for Merck & Co.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 50% bullish and 37%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 3 are puts, for a total amount of $171,896, and 5 are calls, for a total amount of $255,342.
Expected Price Movements
After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $122.0 and $135.0 for Merck & Co, spanning the last three months.
Volume & Open Interest Development
Looking at the volume and open interest is a powerful move while trading options. 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 trades within a strike price range from $122.0 to $135.0 in the last 30 days.
Merck & Co 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot
Noteworthy Options Activity:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Ask | Bid | Price | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRK | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 01/17/25 | $5.1 | $5.1 | $5.1 | $130.00 | $81.6K | 3.6K | 4 |
| MRK | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 10/18/24 | $1.59 | $1.35 | $1.59 | $135.00 | $61.3K | 1.4K | 4 |
| MRK | PUT | SWEEP | BEARISH | 08/02/24 | $4.3 | $4.3 | $4.3 | $128.00 | $60.6K | 1.0K | 0 |
| MRK | PUT | SWEEP | BULLISH | 08/02/24 | $4.5 | $4.25 | $4.25 | $128.00 | $59.9K | 1.0K | 259 |
| MRK | CALL | TRADE | BEARISH | 10/18/24 | $1.68 | $1.6 | $1.63 | $135.00 | $54.1K | 1.4K | 474 |
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.
Merck & Co's Current Market Status
- With a volume of 1,322,959, the price of MRK is down -1.21% at $124.37.
- RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching oversold.
- Next earnings are expected to be released in 12 days.
What The Experts Say On Merck & Co
2 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $144.5.
- An analyst from Morgan Stanley has decided to maintain their Equal-Weight rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $134.
- In a cautious move, an analyst from Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded its rating to Overweight, setting a price target of $155.
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.