Merck & Co Options: A Look at What the Big Money Thinks – Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK)

Major investors are optimistic about Merck & Co. MRCand that’s something market participants shouldn’t ignore. Our monitoring of public options records at Benzinga revealed this significant move today. The identities of these investors remain unknown, but such a significant move in MRK usually indicates something big is about to happen.

We gleaned this information from our observations today, when Benzinga’s Options Scanner highlighted 14 exceptional options activities for Merck & Co. This level of activity is exceptional.

The general sentiment among these heavyweight investors is divided: 42% are optimistic and 42% are pessimistic. Among these notable options are 5 puts totaling $211,231 and 9 calls totaling $494,632.

Expected price range

After evaluating the trading volumes and open interest, it is evident that major market players are focusing on a price range between $95.0 and $120.0 for Merck & Co. over the past three months.

Insights into volume and open interest

Examining volume and open interest provides important insights for stock analysis. This information is critical to assessing liquidity and interest in Merck & Co’s options at specific strike prices. Below we present a snapshot of trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts on Merck & Co’s key trades within a strike price range of $95.0 to $120.0 over the past month.

Merck & Co 30-day option volume and interest rate overview

Largest options trades observed:

About Merck & Co

Merck manufactures pharmaceutical products to treat various diseases in numerous therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and infections. In the area of ​​cancer, the company’s immuno-oncology platform is growing and contributes significantly to total sales. The company also has an extensive vaccine business with treatments to prevent childhood diseases and the human papillomavirus (HPV). In addition, Merck sells medicines for animal health. From a geographic perspective, almost half of the company’s sales are generated in the United States.

Having examined Merck & Co’s options trading patterns, we now turn our attention directly to the company. This shift allows us to examine its current market position and performance.

Current position of Merck & Co

• With a trading volume of 4,033,548, the price of MRK increased by 0.65% to reach $114.41.
• Current RSI readings suggest the stock may be oversold.
• The next results report is scheduled for 66 days.

Professional analyst ratings for Merck & Co

4 market experts have recently provided ratings for this stock, with a consensus price target of $138.5.

• An analyst at Wells Fargo maintains his stance and continues to give Merck & Co an equal weight rating and targets a share price of $125.
• An analyst at Barclays has decided to maintain his Overweight rating on Merck & Co, which currently stands at a price target of $142.
• An analyst at B of A Securities has decided to maintain his buy rating on Merck & Co, which currently stands at a price target of $145.
• An analyst at UBS has decided to maintain his buy rating on Merck & Co, which currently stands at a price target of $142.

Options trading involves higher risks and potential rewards. Smart traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adjusting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay on top of the latest Merck & Co options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.